Rebecca Felan in the Marauder Era
by Edgar-A.-Poe
Summary: Rebecca is a muggleborn in Slytherin during the time of the Marauders. This is not considered a "canon" Rebecca story by me and will not be continued. Canon story is posted.
1. A Beginning

**Chapter One**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of these characters, except Rebecca. I don't plan on making money off this, either.

**Author's Note:** This is a second attempt with this character in this fandom, as the first story was not turning out how I wanted it to. We'll see if this one's any better. Hope you enjoy. Written with help, in part, to my friend Megan, who will occasionally be writing Snape in this, at least in the earlier chapters. Thanks much to her for this inspiration.

* * *

"Good morning, Slytherins and Gryffindors," Professor Horace Slughorn said, beaming at his students. He winked at Severus Snape, a good student, though a bit on the socially awkward side.

"Today we will be discussing the Draught of Peace," Slughorn continued, when he received no answer from his class.

Rebecca Felan, a third year Slytherin, smirked at the boy she was sitting next to, Remus Lupin, a Gryffindor of the same year and one of her friends. This class was going to be a peace of cake, just like all the rest of them, she thought. It was as though Slughorn didn't even want them to try. Remus, however, looked slightly nervous, but Peter Pettigrew, another of her Gryffindor friends, looked downright terrified. Peter could never seem to get through a Potions class without screwing something up, no matter how many times the other tried to help him.

James Potter clapped a hand on Peter's shoulder, as if to comfort him. Sirius Black rolled his eyes, leaning on the two back legs of the chair in order to relax for the duration of the class period. Rebecca looked beyond her male Gryffindor companions to smile at Lily Evans, a muggleborn girl just like she was, and her one equal in this class, she was sure. She and Lily had struck up a friendship early in their first year, when Rebecca was relentlessly teased and bothered by her housemates, who did not appreciate the Mudblood in their midst. Lily, in turn, had introduced her to the four Gryffindor boys she chose to spend most of her time with, though she would go to Lily when she needed to study or really needed someone to talk to. That is, when Lily wasn't hanging around Severus Snape, the one Slytherin who had never spoken a word to her. He was neither mean nor polite to her; in fact, it seemed as if he ignored her existence altogether. Rebecca couldn't understand why Lily would befriend such a strange boy, but Lily assured her that Snape was very nice.

Lily smiled back at Rebecca, and the Slytherin turned her attention back to her Head of House.

"Now, for starters," Slughorn said, turning to face the class as a whole, "can anyone tell me, perhaps, what the Draught of Peace does if properly made?"

He waited, an eyebrow raised, to see which of his three star students would raise their hand first. He always thought that it was a shame that two out of the three of them were muggleborn, but what could you do?

Rebecca looked to Lily, to see if her friend would answer, but her own hand shot in the air without another thought. It was as if she were unable to control it.

Slughorn had been looking at Snape anxiously, as if awaiting his hand, but he sighed. He should have known better. The boy was quieter than a house elf. He looked to Rebecca, beaming. "Yes, Miss Felan?" he asked.

"It calms the drinker down," Rebecca said swiftly. "If you ingest too much of it you can fall asleep and never re-awaken. Draught of Peace is believed to be the true enchantment that surrounded Princess Aurora in the Beatle and the Bard's Sleeping Beauty." She grinned at Slughorn.

"Correct," he said anyway, smiling at her. "A point to Slytherin."

Rebecca smiled after Slughorn awarded her the point. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Snape shaking his head. She turned to face him a little, as best she could at least, and caught him sighing and rolling his eyes, as if bored and annoying all at once. Although Slughorn was a bit boring, and on occasion would slip into a monotone voice, it would at least be polite to not openly act like you were bored.

"Yes, I'm sure he's _very_ nice, Lily," she thought to herself.

A quarter of an hour passed, and Slughorn had finally finished talking. He allowed the class to go gather the items they would need from the storage room. As always, Snape was the first gather his things and take them back to his table, where he worked alone. Rebecca gathered the necessary ingredients and went back to Remus, who she was going to partner with today in order to help him out.

Slughorn noticed that Rebecca was going to work with the Gryffindor crowd again. It was nice that she was making friends outside of her own House, but it bothered him sometimes, a little irking feeling in the back of his mind. She rarely socialized with anyone from Slytherin at all.

Then he looked over and saw Snape gathering his items, beginning to work alone as usual. Snape did almost everything by himself.

It was then that Slughorn was struck by a stroke of brilliance. He waddled over to where Snape was, and told him, very sternly, "Mr. Snape, I'm not allowing you to work alone again." He turned to Rebecca, and beckoned to her. "Miss Felan, could you please come over here? I would like you and Mr. Snape to be Potions partners for the rest of the term."

Rebecca had been just about to begin to light the fire underneath her cauldron when she heard Slughorn's announcement. She nearly dropped her wand as her mouth opened in horror of what he had just said. She supposed it wasn't so bad- Snape had never been outright mean to her, but he had never made an effort to try and help her, either. She assumed he was just like all of the other Slytherins, and had not gone through the motions to know him any better than she knew the rest of her housemates. What was Slughorn playing at?

She stood there, watching Slughorn, making sure that he wasn't joking.

Snape's mouth dropped open and the knife he was using to slice his ingredients clattered onto the table.

"Professor, I do not see why I cannot work alone. We have an odd-numbered class, and I am fully capable of brewing by myself," Snape argued, hoping Professor Slughorn would change his mind.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Snape, but my decision is final. Miss Felan, if you would?" Slughorn replied firmly, beckoning Rebecca over to Snape.

Snape scowled. He moved his things to make room for her and then continued working, not even bothering to speak with her.

Rebecca picked up her things, giving her friends a sorrowful look. They returned hers five times over, though Lily nearly shoved Rebecca in Snape' direction.

"You'll be fine, Becky," Lily whispered in her ear. "It's only Sev."

Rebecca gave Lily a look over her shoulder, as if she wasn't sure, then took her things over to him, setting them down where he had made room for her. She glared at the back of Slughorn's fat neck, then turned to see what Snape was doing. It appeared he still intended to make the potion without her, as if she weren't there at all.

"We have to work together, you know," she said to him.

Snape didn't even look up from his preparations at her words. Rebecca waited impatiently for a reply she was quickly thinking would never come. Then Snape sighed, and his obsidian-colored eyes met Lily's; Snape scowled at her. She merely smiled and winked. The next look he had upon his face was one of pure irritation.

With a heavy sigh, he turned to Rebecca, who was glaring at him, thinking that he was ignoring her. "I've finished most of the preparations for the ingredients. Do you want to start the potion, or finish the last few ingredients?" he asked in the most civil way possible. However, he still sneered a bit.

"I'll start on the potion, thanks," she said shortly, taking up a few ingredients. Without even looking at the board for the directions, she began the potion.

Snape shrugged and continued working on the ingredients as she began the potion.

Rebecca finished the actual putting together of the potion fairly quickly, then began to stir it, as the directions had called for. She had been studying the Draught almost nonstop since they had begun learning about the different kinds of draughts there were. She was fairly certain she knew the directions for each draught nearly backwards and forwards.

She could feel him watching her, but whenever she stole a glance, it would look as though he weren't looking at her. Rebecca never saw Snape move his head, so she was certain that he was watching her from the corner of his eyes.

"It's good you decided to let me help," she said, her tone still a little on edge from before. "Slughorn would've taken points if you hadn't, and you get to see that I'm not a complete moron."

Scowling, he replied, "Points are, ironically, pointless."

He arched an eyebrow. "As for seeing that you are not, in fact, a true Gryffindor," here he smirked, "I do indeed know that you are not a moron. Slytherins very rarely are morons." He sat back.

Rebecca raised an eyebrow at him. "And why would I be a true Gryffindor?" she asked. "Because no one else in this bloody house will talk to me?" She shrugged. "I'm over it. I know who my friends are- they don't judge by blood."

Snape chuckled, a silky baritone sound. "I believe I said you were not a true Gryffindor, because you are not an idiot. There are more idiots in the Gryffindor House than the Slytherin House."

Rebecca looked at him curiously as he laughed. "I do believe that you just complimented me, so I'll take it and be grateful for it," she said quietly, stirring the potion and not looking at him.

She gave him a look. "I beg to differ on that part about Slytherins not being morons, though," she added, giving the draught a looking-over as she continued to stir it. "Lucius Malfoy, for example, was a complete idiot."

He shook his head slightly. "Lucius Malfoy was not a complete idiot. He was popular and he is wealthy. He is merely a spoiled brat. You should have recognized that wealth is everything in the Slytherin House. Next to blood, of course."

Without missing a beat, Rebecca responded, "And that is precisely why Malfoy was an idiot." She gave Snape an even look, then went back to studying the potion. "It has about five more minutes, I think," she muttered to herself. She sat back, waiting for it to finish coming to a boil. "Anyone who thinks that way is." She crossed her arms, looking back at him.

Snape arched an eyebrow, leaning forward slightly. "He was brought up that way. You can't expect someone who was bred to believe that wealth, power, and blood meant everything to just change. They aren't idiots. Just not as educated as those of us who have to work for our education and wealth."

Snape then eyed the potion. "It has two minutes, actually," he corrected.

Rebecca looked over at the potion. "So it does," she said, crossing one leg over the other. "My mistake."

She didn't like that he was leaning forward. He looked too menacing, too close, when he did that. Rebecca leaned back in her seat to compensate for the closed space.

"Even those who are raised like that don't have to think that way," she said. "Sirius is from a pureblood family- they've all been in Slytherin, and they have almost the same values as the Malfoy family. He doesn't care that I'm a muggleborn. Malfoy had a choice as soon as he discovered there was an opposition to what he believed."

Snape scowled and leaned backwards. "That _mutt_ is nothing like his family. He never believed in the pureblood crap that is spewed out of Mrs. Black's lips, nor did he ever want to be a Slytherin- though do not let his house fool you. He is conniving like any other Slytherin, and he is as much of a prat as Lucius Malfoy was," Snape hissed angrily.

Rebecca tried to stay calm, but she got up and checked the potion, trying to keep something between her and Snape. She did not like how angry he got.

"Calm down, I was trying to make a point," she said, trying to keep her voice level. "Sirius can be a big prat sometimes, you're right." She paused. "It seems that Sirius to you is like Malfoy is to me."

Snape held a disgusted look on his face. "There is no equivalent to that hound you insist is a person," he replied through clenched teeth.

She was a complete and utter fool, Snape decided. Had she no respect for herself? Snape knew Black was a "'ladies man," but it was more along the lines of "he'd shag any girl who looked as decent as he thought he did and then leave them." Snape was disgusted at the mere thought of Black taking advantage of Lily. But he knew Lily could handle herself. Rebecca, on the other hand... Snape was not too sure.

Rebecca furrowed her brows, getting angry. The potion was all but forgotten. "That's my friend you're talking about," she growled, her voice deadly. He hands were clenched by her side, and she was trying as hard as she possibly could to not hit Snape. She wanted to knock his crooked nose completely off his sallow face.

But the smell of the potion brought her back to the now- it was nearly close to burning.

"Fuck," Rebecca said, quickly turning it. She turned down the flames considerably, and the potion stopped attempting to bubble over. Rebecca searched her mind on how to fix it, then executed.

"We need to get this finished," she told him quietly, her voice still shaking from her anger.

Snape smirked. So she had a soft spot for Black. She'd certainly be hurt and Snape would be there to say "I told you so." He had kept a careful watch of the potion, and smirked further when it began to bubble over.

Without so much as a hesitation, he threw in a handful of the last ingredient he prepared, causing the potion to come out exactly right. At that moment, Slughorn walked by and smiled at the pair of them.

"Twenty-five points to Slytherin for being the first to complete the draught successfully!" Slughorn beamed at them, thinking how wonderfully his plan had worked before moving on to the next team.

"Unlike some people, I take pride in my work. I know how to fix any state a potion is in, thank you," Snape replied sourly, quietly, as soon as Slughorn had turned his back. He began cleaning his tools.

Rebecca gave him a side-glance. "Don't smirk at me," she told him. "I'm still learning. I didn't grow up in a magical community like most of the other kids here. So excuse me if my standards are not up to your par, _Severus_."

She began to gather up her things.

Snape hardly flinched at the use of his first name. "I suggest you catch up fast. It's common knowledge for an advanced student to know how to correct half a dozen potions. Professor Slughorn seems to think you're capable of handling that kind of knowledge. Was he wrong, _Rebecca_?"

Snape arched an eyebrow while he continued to carefully clean his working surface.

She had had it.

Rebecca slammed down her potions book, making a loud bang that everyone in the room heard. No one had ever seen this quiet girl get so mad before, not even her friends, who looked on, concerned.

"If you would stop taking jabs at my intelligence, maybe you would see how far your head is up your own arse, Severus Snape," Rebecca snapped at him, her eyes on fire. "You know what I think? You're a sad, scared, little boy who hides behind his veil of sarcasm, and book smarts to avoid people, all because he's afraid that they won't like him. It's sad, and I pity you, because I know that's what you'll hate most."

With a huff, she turned and picked up her belongings, walking past Professor Slughorn and out of the classroom, not even waiting to be dismissed. The class was silent.


	2. I'm Looking Through You

**Chapter Two**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of these characters, except Rebecca. I don't plan on making money off this, either.

* * *

Rebecca agreed to meet Lily in the library to study. The finals were coming up for the third years, and though Rebecca kept assuring and reassuring Lily that she would be fine, she insisted upon studying nearly non-stop for the week leading up to the exams.

"I can't believe you can act so callous about this, Becky," Lily said, obviously exasperated. She swept her fiery red hair away from her face, attempting to pull it back into a ponytail with a hair-tie brought out from her robes.

"About what? Potions?" Rebecca asked, an eyebrow lifted. "Lily… it's Potions. It's Slughorn. D'you really think he's going to make it that hard?"

Lily sighed. "Regardless, I asked Sev to join us tonight." She opened up her satchel and took out their Potions textbook, setting it on the table.

Rebecca's face immediately fell, unbeknownst to Lily.

"Now, where should we start, Becky?" Lily asked, looking up to meet the eyes that nearly matched her own in color. "What's the matter?"

"You asked Snape to come?" Rebecca asked, hoping she just hadn't heard Lily the first time.

"He's the best in our year—"

"All the more reason he doesn't need to study," Rebecca interrupted her. "Lily, we're good at Potions, just in case you missed Slughorn raving about us all year. We don't need the likes of Snape to study with us—I'm not even sure why I'm studying for Potions when I should be focusing on Charms or History of Magic! You know those are my worse classes."

Lily shook her head and sighed. "You've been hanging round James and Sirius too long, Becky," she said, a bit perturbed. "Sev isn't that bad of a guy."

"Lily, he's a stuck-up prat just like the rest of the Slytherins," Rebecca said, her face set in a stern expression. "I'm not going to stay here if he's here."

"My feelings exactly," purred a voice.

Rebecca and Lily looked up at the same moment, meeting Snape's eyes. Lily smiled while Rebecca repressed a sneer. She felt that Snape was doing the same.

"Sev! I'm so glad you came!" Lily said, scooting her chair over to make room for Snape.

"I would usually say the same, Lily, but you didn't mention that Felan would be here," Snape said, his eyes focused on Lily now.

Rebecca noticed a definite change in Snape's attitude when he turned his attention toward Lily. So the Slytherin did have a soft spot, she thought with a smirk.

"I thought we could all study together," Lily said, crossing her arms. "I can't believe the two of you are still acting so childishly about what happened earlier this year."

"Considering that Felan did her best to try and make a mockery of me in front of a professor and the entire class—"

"After you insulted my intelligence and tried your best to ignore me," Rebecca growled, her hand curled into a fist.

"Perhaps because the jabs were well justified," Snape shot back, his black eyes practically glowing.

Rebecca stood up; Snape straightened.

"Becky, that's enough!" Lily snapped. "The two of you are my friends. I just want to be able to spend time with the both of you without the other hating me for it."

Rebecca caught Snape's gaze softening as he looked back to Lily. She watched him evenly, thinking that perhaps she could use his fondness of Lily against the boy later.

"I don't hate you for spending time with your friends, Lily," Snape said quickly. "I do believe that you need to re-think a particular choice that you've made…"

Rebecca physically bit down on her tongue to stop herself from saying anything. She turned to get her things, gathering them up quickly and loudly. Madame Pince, the librarian glared at her, but Rebecca ignored her.

"I told you this was a bad idea, Lily," Rebecca said. "I need to study for Charms, anyway. I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast."

She turned to leave, when she heard Snape's voice from behind her.

"Charms?" he said. "Of all subjects… I was beginning to think more highly of her, too."

"Sev, _please_!"

Rebecca turned on her heel to stare directly at Snape. "I'm sorry that we all can't be as privileged as the great Severus Snape." Her voice was even, but dripping with sarcasm, and she knew she had Snape's full attention. "Some of us actually have to work for our grades. We can't all just sit in the back and silently chide the professors and other students for their idiocy." She paused. "We have to leave some room for the school outcast."

She gave him a long, cold look, which he returned almost tenfold. Lily put a hand on his wrist, even, and it only softened his gaze a bit.

"See you tomorrow, Lily," Rebecca said again, her voice going back to its normal pitch. She turned and walked from the library.


	3. You Can't Do That

**Chapter Three**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of these characters, except Rebecca. I don't plan on making money off this, either.

* * *

"OY! BECCA!"

She heard the familiar shout on the platform and turned, grinning, to meet the running duo of James Potter and Sirius Black. It was Sirius who had shouted for her, and was the first to greet her by enveloping her in a large bear-hug. It was James' turn next.

"All right, save me some air," Rebecca told them breathily. She took in a deep breath as soon as James let her go. "Appreciate it. How were your summers?"

"Terrible, as usual," Sirius groaned.

James rolled his eyes. "Until he came round to my place," he added. "Then we had some fun."

"Well, of course, James," Sirius said. "I was out of my mother's grasp, that's why we had so much fun. Your parents are much better anyway."

"How 'bout yours, Becca?" James asked, after nodding in response to Sirius.

"Same as usual," Rebecca said with a roll of her eyes. "Help me with my things?" She held up the smaller of two bags that she carried out in front of her, and James took it without thought. "Nicholas was a right prat to me during the first part of it—wouldn't let me out of his sights. He was home from college this summer, so of course he wanted to pester his little sister about still being in school." She shook her head. "I can't wait until I'm seventeen, when I can hex him into oblivion without getting punished for it…"

Sirius smirked. "Sounds like what I'd like to do with Regulus," he commented.

"Well, at least you don't have to deal with him as much as I do," Rebecca said. "He's not in your house, is he?"

"As long as he doesn't follow you to get to us, it shouldn't be a problem," said Sirius.

"Although that might prove useful for later use, if he _does_ get on your nerves more than usual, Sirius," James said with a sly smirk.

Sirius wore a devilish grin. "Perhaps we might think of something later."

Rebecca looked up and down the platform as they dropped her things off with an attendant. "Has anyone heard from Remus this summer?" She had grown worried about their friend, what with their discovery of his lycanthropy last year. It had taken them months to get him to calm down, to make it known that they still loved having his friendship, and that they couldn't hate him for what he was. Remus finally understood after gentle prods in the right direction. At every full moon during the summer, Rebecca worried for her friend's safety.

"I wish I could've owled the lot of you," continued Rebecca. "Then maybe I wouldn't feel so left out or worried by the time summer ends."

Sirius nodded. "There's Remus right now," he said, pointing down the platform.

Rebecca smiled and turned to look at Remus, who looked slightly more pale than usual. His mother was walking with him, but the boy turned to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek and took his bag from her. She hugged him and turned back, leaving Remus to catch up with his friends.

"Hello, everyone," said Remus as he approached the trio.

"All right, Remy?" Rebecca asked, looking at him pointedly as she went in for a hug.

"Yes, Becca, I'm fine," he said, giving her a soft smile as he returned the hug.

Rebecca didn't want to let him go, he felt so frail. She was afraid he might fall over if she did. She released herself from his grasp and scooted away, allowing the other boys to greet Remus. They then handed off his bag to an attendant so it could be placed on the train, along with the others' things.

"Now we just need to find Pete," James said, putting his foot on the bottom step of the train.

"FUCKING GRYFFINDOR!"

The friends turned at the shout in the crowd.

"Something tells me we just found him," Sirius said, taking out his wand and rushing toward the sound. James followed suit quickly.

Rebecca and Remus exchanged a look, then went after the other two, weaving through the crowd as quickly as they could. They came upon the scene just as James and Sirius were raising their wands against two older-looking Slytherins. Peter was curled up on the ground, looking as though he had been hit rather than hexed into that position, his bag laying on the ground next to him, open, its contents spilling out. Rebecca watched as Sirius opened his mouth to deliver the first spell. She jumped in front of him, clenching her teeth. Rebecca had never been particularly brave, but she didn't want her friends to get in trouble for acting stupid, either.

"Stop!" she told him, shoving him back towards James. Sirius knocked into his best mate, and the two went stumbling back into the crowd.

Rebecca knelt down next to Peter, checking him over quickly and speaking softly to him. She began helping him gather his things up. During this, she was ignoring the three elder Slytherins watching her. One, the girl, her dark hair falling in her face, watched her curiously.

Once Peter had his things back in his bag, Rebecca helped him stand and sent him back over to the others. The boy kept his head down, obviously ashamed that he had not been able to defend himself.

"Aren't you in Slytherin?" the dark-haired girl finally asked Rebecca as she was turning to leave. She identified the girl as Bellatrix Black, Sirius' older cousin. The two flanking her were the Lestrange brothers.

"Yeah, what of it?" Becca asked, meeting the taller girl's eyes.

"What were you helping the likes of him for, then?" she continued, hands on her hips. The two Slytherin boys flanked her, looking menacing. "He's just a Gryffindor, nearly a squib. He isn't worth your time."

"Just because someone is weaker than you doesn't give you the right to bully them," Rebecca muttered, glaring darkly at her. "If anything, just pushing him around makes you look like the dunderhead."

Rebecca stopped, her eyes widening slightly. Her mouth had definitely run away with her. Now, from the looks that Bellatrix and her grunts were giving her, Rebecca felt she was in for it. She felt for her wand in her back pocket, biting her lower lip, waiting for their response.

Bellatrix stepped forward, examining Rebecca carefully. She took Rebecca's chin in her hand, bringing it uncomfortably close to her own face. Rebecca cringed, but tried her best to keep her face blank.

"I wouldn't wander by yourself if I were you, little Mudblood," Bellatrix whispered to her, her voice deadly.

With a snap of her wrist, Bellatrix had practically thrown Rebecca to the ground. The fourth year managed to catch herself, stumbling a little, watching as the other Slytherins walked away. She felt a presence behind her, and a warm, familiar hand take hers. She turned, a little shakily, to face Remus, who tugged on her hand slightly, pulling her back toward the safety of her friends. Grasping his hand tightly, Rebecca followed the four boys back to the train, unable to let go of Remus' hand.


	4. I Just Don't Understand

Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of these characters, except Rebecca. I don't plan on making money off this, either.

* * *

"Miss Evans?"

Rebecca turned to face Professor Flitwick anyway, a smirk on her face.

"Oh, Miss Felan, my apologies," the little Charms professor squeaked at her, taking a step back. It amused Rebecca to see the slightly shocked expression on his face.

"It's all right, Professor," she told him with a sigh. "It isn't the first time and it won't be the last."

He nodded. "The two of you look very similar, my dear," he commented. "I was just about to ask Miss Evans why she was in my classroom when she clearly wasn't supposed to be here until tomorrow. But now I understand." He chuckled before walking back through his pile of books. He used them to stand on during class so he could be seen while he lectured.

Rebecca sighed again, putting her head in her hands as she shook her head. It bothered her sometimes that she and Lily looked so much alike. They had everything the other had—the bright red hair that was only slightly curly at the very ends, and the dazzlingly green eyes. Their figures were different, though, Rebecca thought, though similar enough that she could understand why someone would get confused. Their personalities were almost completely different, however.

Perhaps I should cut my hair, Rebecca mused to herself, staring at Flitwick as he climbed up a stack of books.

The tiny man began his lecture, and Rebecca paid very close attention to every word he said. Charms was not her best subject. She could never quite understand why, because it seemed to come so easily to everyone else, but she always had struggled. She had no problem with Transfiguration, though McGonagall had commented to her that all of her students told her that it was the hardest class at Hogwarts. Rebecca couldn't even understand how her brain worked, sometimes.

She suddenly felt a rush of pain as something struck the back of her head. She whipped around and caught Rosier and Avery snickering. Snape was sitting beside Avery, who was the closest thing the latter boy had to a friend in his own house. Rosier and Avery glared back when they realized Rebecca had turned around. The Ravenclaw she was sitting next to looked at her nervously and scooted away from her. Looking down, Rebecca saw that the two boys in her year had thrown a tiny metal screw at her, obviously taken from the stools they were sitting on. She turned back around, intent on hearing the rest of Flitwick's lecture, whether her classmates wanted her to learn or not.

Again, she felt another rush of pain as another tiny screw hit the back of her head. She did her best to ignore them, but now they were coming in larger frequencies. A smile passed over her face when she realized they'd run out of screws soon, and be attempting to hold their chairs up by magic…

She quietly and slowly brought out her wand, now wincing at the pain that was growing larger as the screws continued to hit the same place again and again on her head. She waved her wand and quietly said the spell under her breath. Behind her, she heard both chairs crash and the boys shouting in surprise. She swiftly put away her wand and tried to keep her face straight as she turned around with the rest of the class. Rosier and Avery were sprawled on the floor of the classroom. Flitwick looked at them curiously, an eyebrow raised.

"Gentlemen, is everything all right back there?" Flitwick asked, standing on his tip-toes in an attempt to see the boys.

"Yes, Professor," Avery managed to stutter. He and Rosier were getting up, with the aid of Snape. All three boys shot the girl warning looks.

The class went back to normal, Flitwick trudging on doggedly through his lecture about the Summoning Charm. Rebecca was silently congratulating herself as she took her notes when a small piece of parchment fell next to her. She looked at it with curiosity, but put her hand over it quickly and opened it in her lap. The hand writing was unfamiliar, but fairly neat, if a little cramped. It seemed to be a mixture of script and print, and was rather interesting.

_Wait for me after class._

_- Snape_

Rebecca dared not turn around. Why did Snape want to see her? It was probably about her retaliation against Rosier and Avery. They had had it coming to them, she thought determinedly. She stuffed the note into her pocket, deciding to wait for him after class, if only to tell him off.

* * *

She gathered her things slowly as the class filed out of Flitwick's room. She felt Snape's presence just over her shoulder, then heard him walk out of the room. Rosier and Avery had left a few moments earlier. Rebecca gave it a few more moments before she went cautiously out into the hallway. If it was a trap, she was going to stay as close to the classroom as she could, if only so Flitwick could hear what was going on.

Snape was waiting for her across the hallway, leaning against the wall. He was alone.

"So what was the note all about?" she asked, taking a step toward him. She looked up and down the hallway, checking for the other Slytherins. "Trying to help your buddies get back at me?"

Snape raised an eyebrow at her. "They're hardly my 'buddies,' as you call them," he drawled. His voice had gotten slightly deeper since they had last spoken. She tended to tune him out in class, whenever he rarely spoke. "Avery is more of a nuisance than he's worth sometimes, but I keep him round so the others know well to leave me alone… most of the time."

"Oh," Rebecca said, her voice a bit deflated now. "Then what's this meeting all about, then?" She wasn't sure what to make of Snape at this point. He was being far too forward with her.

"They're going to try and attack you once you come back to the common room tonight after dinner," Snape told her flatly. "Thought you'd like to know so you might try and defend yourself… or get your Gryffindor friends to take you elsewhere." At this, he sneered slightly. "But seeing as how poor you are at any sort of charm-work, I would suggest the latter of the two ideas."

Rebecca blinked at him a few times. "Why are you telling me this? I thought we had a mutual hatred of one another."

Snape sighed. "This does not mean that I hate you any less, Felan, nor does it mean that I'm extending the hand of friendship," he said quickly. "You're Lily's friend. I'm her best friend. If I let you get attacked, and she finds out that I knew about it and could have warned you, she would be very angry with me."

"And you wouldn't like that because you're in love with her," Rebecca said, crossing her arms over her chest as she smirked.

Snape furrowed his brows at her. "I don't see how that is any of your business, and I will not deem that worthy of an answer," he growled.

"It wasn't a question."

The two Slytherins, complete opposites, stared at one another for a long, drawn-out moment. Finally, Snape broke the silence by saying, "I knew I was being too nice to the likes of you."

"The likes of me _what_, Snape?" Rebecca asked. "Not like I haven't heard it before."

Snape cringed. "Just take my advice, or you'll be in the Hospital Wing for a very long time," he said shortly.

Rebecca watched the boy go, wondering why he hadn't called her a name, like the others would have done. She had done much more to him than what she had done to them to deserve the term _mudblood_.

She sighed, beginning to head toward her next class. It looked as though she'd have to find somewhere to go after dinner tonight.


	5. That Means a Lot

Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of these characters, except Rebecca. I don't plan on making money off this, either.

* * *

Rebecca had managed to avoid the common room the night Snape had warned her. She stayed with the Marauders in an empty classroom on the top floor, and James lent her his invisibility cloak for the night in order to get back to her dorm room safely. Rebecca felt she owed Snape something for his warning, but she wasn't sure what. What could she do for him that he would want, or accept for that matter? She stopped worrying about it after a while.

The rest of her fourth year did not go by without incident. James and Sirius had to work with Rebecca in order to get better at her charm work, just to keep herself safe from the other Slytherins, who had decided that picking on her would be a favored pass-time. Her dueling abilities were growing, and Lily was dueling with her every chance she got in order to keep her on her toes. If Rebecca got relaxed in just the least bit, a Slytherin would quickly remind her of her place in the house.

Particularly, the group of older Slytherins that had accosted Peter that September while getting on the train were the worse to Rebecca. Sirius had told Rebecca of his older cousin, Bellatrix, and described her as having a nearly sociopath outlook. The Lestranges, she was also told, would do almost anything for Bellatrix. Rebecca tried to avoid them as much as possible, or to stay with her Gryffindor friends more than staying inside her own common room. It was getting to the point of ridiculousness. She couldn't go on like this forever.

The only other way, she and her friends figured, to make the other Slytherins stop bothering her, was to either get the staff involved or find a friend in Slytherin. The first one wasn't too farfetched, but it had a good chance of making things worse. The latter was just plain laughable.

Rebecca decided to suck it up and spend the rest of her fourth year ignoring them as best she could. She had more important things to worry about, anyway. She and the Marauders were planning a very big surprise for Remus that would go into effect that next year, and their preparations were almost finished. She was amazed they had been able to keep their plan a secret for almost two years, since their finding out about Remus's lycanthropy. They wanted to become Animagi.

She had deliberated over it quite a bit when the boys first suggested it. She didn't know if she wanted to go through with something that was so complex, as well as illegal. They weren't going to be registered with the Ministry. After a good month of thinking the matter over, and facing a load of jabbing by Sirius and James, she decided to go for it. She would be helping, of course, because of her expertise in Transfiguration. It would take all three of them in order to help Peter, who was seemingly hopeless at times.

By the end of their fourth year, they had all made up their minds on their specific animals. Sirius would be a dog, which Rebecca thought oddly proper considering his mother had named him after the star (he didn't like it to be brought up). James would be a stag, because he thought them very majestic. Peter would be a rat, something small enough to hit the knot on the Whomping Willow tree to make it stop its incessant swinging. Rebecca would be a wolf, discovering that her last name meant "young wolf," she thought it suiting; she also believed it would help Remus, who would essentially be a wolf, too. The three larger animals would also be able to handle Remus in his werewolf form if anything were to go wrong. All four of them thought the plan perfect.

Owling back and forth over the summer, the friends brought their planning to a close. After the first two months back at school in their fifth year, they would be able to watch their plan grow to fruition. It made Rebecca extremely happy, and she couldn't wait to see the smile on Remus's face once they showed him what they had done for him—for their friendship.


	6. If You've Got Trouble

**Chapter Six**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of these characters, except Rebecca. I don't plan on making money off this, either.

* * *

The beginning of the fifth year for Rebecca had started off well enough. She found it odd, though, that the Slytherins had seemed to suddenly stop bothering her. It had been nearly two weeks since the start of the term, and not one of them had said more than a word to her. The years below her never said anything to her, for she was more powerful than them and they knew and respected that to a certain extent. Those in her year and older, though, were what perplexed her. Even Bellatrix and the Lestrange brothers had been unusually quiet. Seeing as how this was their last year to torment her, she figured that they would be all over her, so to speak.

After dinner, she went on her lonely way back to the common room to study for Herbology class that she had the next day. This year was the O.W.L. year, and everything, more so than before, counted very much. Rebecca wanted to do well and get into all N.E.W.T. classes for her sixth and seventh years, even in the subjects that were her worse. So far, she felt she was doing very well, and she wanted to keep it that way.

She reached a bend in the hallway of the dungeons where it was very quiet on the way to the common room—not many people went past there, not even Slytherins, on a regular basis.

A hand clamped over her mouth as her arms were snatched behind her, and she felt frizzy hair press up against her cheek. Out of the corner of her widening eyes, she saw that the frizzy hair was black, and the cheek now pressed up against her own was paler than the moon when it was full. The fingers upon her mouth were long, slim, with perfectly trimmed nails. Bellatrix Black had captured her, was now breathing into her ear. She felt the older girl's cheek pull into a grin.

"Got you now, little mudblood," she hissed. "Shouldn't have gone off on your own."

She heard two sets of chuckling. The Lestrange brothers, of course; they were the ones holding her arms, one for each of them, just in case.

Bellatrix reached into her robes and pulled out her wand. "Oh, dear, what will you do without this?" she asked, clucking her tongue against her front teeth.

Rebecca began to struggle, thinking Bellatrix would break her wand, her most prized possession. Instead, the older girl threw it down the hall, well out of Rebecca's reach. Rebecca watched with a sort of glazed look. She was done for.

With a movement of her head, Bellatrix ordered one of the Lestrange boys to let go, and only one now held her arms. Bellatrix then turned to face Rebecca, still holding a hand to her mouth. She then brought out her wand.

"_Muffliato_," she said. She paused a moment, smirking as she took her hand away from Rebecca's mouth. "Now no one can hear you scream."

Rebecca froze, knowing the spell and knowing no amount of screaming would do her any good now.

"What're you going to do to me?" she asked quietly.

Bellatrix chuckled, a frightening sound. She sounded like what Rebecca had imagined the witches she had heard in fairy tales when she was young would sound like, before she found out they were real. Now she knew that Bellatrix was the horrible witch all those fairy tales talked about.

"I guess you'll find out, won't you, little mudblood," Bellatrix crooned to her, taking her chin in her hand and shaking it lightly.

Rebecca tore her chin from her grasp, sneering at her. She had to fight. If she didn't, she didn't know what these demented Slytherins would do to her. They were notorious for being into the Dark Arts, something Rebecca knew she couldn't defeat them at.

Bellatrix glared at Rebecca for a moment, watching as the girl began to kick and struggle against the Lestrange brother holding her. Suddenly, she drew up her wand.

"_Locomotor Mortis_."

Rebecca's legs stopped working, and would no longer obey her commands. She panicked, her breathing rate soaring as her heart beat solidly against her chest. I need my wand, she thought to herself. The Lestrange brother holding her chuckled as the other watched with a wicked look upon his face.

"_Crucio_!"

The look on Bellatrix's face was one of pure hatred when the spell released from her mouth. Rebecca didn't even have time to take a breath before it hit her. Her body jumped forward, but her arms were still being firmly held by the Lestrange brother, so he kept her from falling. She felt her body pitch and quake, and her nerves felt like they were on fire. She wanted to scream, but her vocal chords felt as though they were being strangled. Her mind felt as though it would cave in on itself if this kept up for much longer.

Then the pain receded. Rebecca's body went limp, and her breathing was now labored. Her hair fell into her face, her head now unable to be supported by her neck.

"The mudblood didn't scream, Bellatrix," said the Lestrange brother opposite to her. "You know I like it better when they scream."

"I know, Rabastan," Bellatrix said quickly. "Perhaps together we can make her scream…"

Rebecca tried to prepare herself for the next onslaught. The pain came what seemed triple what it was before. Her head was thrown back, her mouth open, but she heard no scream emit from it, didn't feel it coming through her throat. She had no control over her body, and it rocked violently back and forth, up and down, every way with no want to stop.

Then it was over. She was glad of it, even though all her skin tingled uncomfortably. Her head flopped forward again. The arms holding her, that of Rodolphus, she now knew, let go of her. She felt too weak to try and cradle her fall, but she managed to move one arm enough so as not to smash her head upon the cold dungeon floor below her. The stone felt wonderful against her fiery skin.

She winced, squeaking when her hair was grabbed by another hand from behind, curling into her roots. The hand thrust her face into that of Rabastan's, a crazed, hungry look upon his face.

"Scream for me, mudblood," he whispered to her, his face nearly touching her own. "Scream, so I know you're still alive while I'm tearing you apart…"

His other hand was now going toward her leg, trying to force up her skirt. It took all the strength Rebecca had to grab his hand on her leg with her own, smacking it away. He laughed cruelly, his hand going back again. She couldn't fight him off. She was too weak. Rebecca began to whimper, feeling the hot tears piercing the backs of her eyes.

"That's it," Rabastan continued in his hoarse whisper. His hand tightened its grip in her hair, his hand now at her panties. "Now scream."

Rebecca couldn't help but cry out when his grip tightened. She put all her effort into moving from his violating hand, and managed a few inches. This just made him angrier.

"_Stupefy_!"

Rebecca watched as Rabastan fell forward, dropping her. She barely caught herself before hitting the floor, the older boy falling just beside her.

"_Expelliarmus_!"

This spell came directly after the first, uttered by the same person. Rebecca couldn't identify the voice. Frankly, she didn't care. She was saved. Her head rested against the cold, stone floor, her hair covering her face.

"Just what do you think you're doing, Snape?" Bellatrix cried angrily.

"Why are you hurting that girl?" Snape demanded.

Snape? Rebecca thought. Surely Snape wouldn't save her.

"Because she's a mudblood, obviously," Bellatrix said incredulously. Rebecca heard her footsteps come closer to her. She was picked up by her shoulders. "Surely you'd like to have some fun, eh, Snape?"

"Lily Evans is mine," Snape continued. "I thought I had made that clear to all three of you."

"Evans?" Bellatrix said. There was a pause, then she chuckled, the terrible sound hurting Rebecca's ears. "I believe you have this mudblood pegged for your dearest."

With a slight shake, Bellatrix was able to make Rebecca's head fall backwards, allowing her hair to part and her face to show. She saw Snape standing there, holding Bellatrix and Rodolphus's wands, his jaw beginning to clench. Rebecca gave him a pained look, and opened her mouth just slightly.

"Help me," she mouthed, her eyes feeling the sting of new tears coming to them. "Please," she added.

Snape stared at her, then turned his attention to Bellatrix. "I will make you a deal," he said quickly. "Tell no one that I helped this mudblood, and in return, I will tell no one that you used an Unforgivable Curse upon her multiple times."

Bellatrix scoffed. "Why would you want to help this useless mudblood?"

"She is a friend of Evans, who is under my protection," Snape explained quickly. "Evans gives me what I want; in return, I give her what she wants." He smirked suggestively. "She wants this mudblood protected."

Bellatrix stared at Snape for a very long moment. "The mudblood's wand is over there somewhere," she said, waving a hand idly over at the corner of the dungeon. "Take her. You have your deal, Snape. Have fun with your Evans."

Rebecca was handed over to Snape, who was able to lift her quiet easily, much to her surprise. The older Slytherins' wands were returned to them, and Rebecca's was retrieved. By the time this was done, the other three had turned around. It was silent in the corridor.


	7. I'm So Tired

**Chapter Seven**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of these characters, except Rebecca. I don't plan on making money off this, either.

* * *

Snape had taken Rebecca back to the common room, where no one was to be found. He had not said a word to her in the few minutes since he had rescued her, and she didn't have much strength left to stay conscious, much less to speak.

He took her up the steps to the boy's dormitory, which she found very confusing, but could not fight. At this point, she had decided that even if Snape was going to just continue what the Lestranges and Bellatrix had begun, at least there was only one of him. At least he, she hoped, would be a little kinder.

Opening a door, Snape brought her into a room that had only one bed, and its own private bathroom. He laid her on the bed, then placed her wand on the nightstand next to it before getting his own wand out of his robes.

"_Finite Incantatem_," he said.

Rebecca felt her legs relax, but she hadn't known they'd been jinxed, still. She had forgotten that in all of the chaos.

She watched as Snape looked her over critically, his black eyes traveling everywhere over her body.

"Did they only use Crucio on you?" he asked, his eyes darting to hers.

"Yes," Rebecca managed, unable to nod her head.

Snape stared into her eyes, his own trying to bore into her mind, it felt like.

"Did he get much farther than what I saw with you?"

Rebecca felt her throat close up as she remembered just how close Rabastan had gotten.

"No," she whispered, the tears finally falling.

Snape didn't show any emotion to her tears. He sighed, replacing his wand in his robes. He then went over to a cabinet that stood to one side of the room. It wasn't very large, but when Snape opened it, it had a numerous variety of potions inside of it. He pulled one out and walked back to Rebecca, presenting it to her.

"Here," he said. "Drink it."

"Draught of Peace?" Rebecca asked through her tears and pain.

Snape nodded once and grunted, turning around to go back to the cabinet. Rebecca drank the potion without a second thought. When she had done so, Snape had returned with another vial. He took the first one which had held the draught in it, and gave her this new one.

"Sleeping Draught?"

"Stop asking questions and just drink it," Snape said shortly.

"Tell me where I am," Rebecca said, lowering the vial and staring back at him.

"My room."

Rebecca gave him a look. Snape sighed again, agitated.

"I have a room by myself, yes," he said. "Lucius Malfoy made sure I'd have this place to myself once he'd left. He wanted to keep me safe from the other Slytherins. He saw… _potential_ in me."

Rebecca blinked at him for a moment, feeling the effects of the draught begin to take over. Her tears had stopped. "Thank you for saving me," she whispered. "Even if I wasn't Lily."

Snape's brow furrowed. "You can't tell anyone about this," he said, his voice stern. "I have my end of the bargain to keep up with Bellatrix. If I do that, she won't hurt you anymore, and I won't have to keep coming to your rescue."

Rebecca nodded a little. At least she could managed that, now. "How long can I stay?" she asked.

"You should feel better by tomorrow morning," Snape said. "Crucio's effects can last a while, but you should be able to get around quite well by yourself."

"Where will you sleep?" Rebecca asked, suddenly thinking of it.

"Just take the bloody potion, Felan," Snape said, exasperated.

She tipped the vial back, taking it all in one gulp. He took the vial from her without waiting another moment. Rebecca leaned her head back against the pillow, and was asleep within a few moments. She could hear Snape scratching quill against parchment, working on a homework assignment, she imagined.


	8. Come Together

**Chapter Eight**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of these characters, except Rebecca. I don't plan on making money off this, either.

* * *

"Felan. Felan! Get up!"

Rebecca heard Snape's harsh voice calling to her, and her eyes opened just a little. She felt groggy, and her head felt heavy. Seeing Snape as the first thing when she woke up was not what she intended, and only caused the previous night's happenings to come rushing back to the forefront of her mind. She then suddenly remember that she was in Snape's bed.

She sat up quickly at this realization, perhaps a bit too quickly. She put a hand to her head, swaying a little bit. Snape sighed, shaking his head at her.

"You should get to your own dormitory so you can change," he said, uncaring of how much her head was pounding at the moment.

Rebecca closed her eyes and let her brain stop swimming before opening them again. She looked to Snape. She had comprehended everything that he had said, but her mind was still racing at the happenings of the night before.

"Why did you help me?" she asked, quietly, the question weighting on her mind heavily. "I mean… you thought I was Lily. The look on your face when you saw that I wasn't…" She stopped, unsure of where she was going, hoping he would finish the train of thought for her.

Snape scoffed. "I did think you were Lily," he said. "But for you to think I would have let those three torture and rape you…" He gave her a hard look. "I may be many things, but heartless I'm not." His eyes trailed over her body, examining her.

Rebecca was unsure of what to say. "Thank you again," was all she could manage.

"You don't appear to have any cuts or bruising from your thrashing," he commented, ignoring her gratitude again. He met her eyes. "Remember, Felan, you can tell no one of this."

This thought truly bothered Rebecca. "Don't get me wrong, Snape, I do appreciate you saving me from…" She hesitated. "Well, an even more unpleasant experience, this isn't something I can exactly shove into the corner of my mind and forget about."

"You'll have to do that," Snape said, his brow creasing. "If you tell anyone, and what happens gets out, they will surely be expelled, and the other Slytherins will do to you what they would have done last night until you are dead." Snape paused, his gaze boring into her own, to make sure she understood the severity of the situation. "There are things outside of Hogwarts that are much bigger than you realize, Felan. Those three are, granted, a small part of those things, but a part they still are. If certain people heard of you—"

He stopped, his eyes showing a tiny amount of fear mixed with another emotion Rebecca couldn't quite place.

"Snape… are you talking about—?"

"Forget it, Felan," he snapped, his black eyes gleaming with a fury she hadn't seen in a long while. "These are things you of all people shouldn't be involved in."

Rebecca paused a moment. "Because of my blood."

Snape looked at her, the fury trickling out of his eyes. "Yes, because of your blood."

Rebecca nodded. "Sn—Severus, if you don't mind."

He nodded once, now looking interested.

"I… may have misjudged you," Rebecca continued, nibbling on her lower lip. She quickly stopped herself. She had just managed to rid herself of this habit, and she wouldn't have herself starting up again. "There are some things I still don't understand about you, but from what I can see… you're all right. Lily, I think, has had the right idea of you. You didn't have to save me, but you did. I owe you—"

"You owe me nothing, Rebecca," Snape said quietly, his eyes cast to the floor. His long, black hair hid his face from her. "I could not have faced Lily's pain if anything were to have happened to you… especially if she were to have found…"

He trailed off. Rebecca nodded, understanding.

"You really do love her, don't you?" she asked, her voice barely over a whisper.

"Yes," Snape said, his voice matching hers. "But she can't know. Our friendship is much too important."

Rebecca was silent for a long moment. She considered everything that was happening, everything that had happened, between her and Severus Snape.

"Perhaps… we can start our acquaintance over again," she suggested. "I'd like to be your friend, if I could."

Snape looked up at her. "I don't see how that's possible," he told her evenly, his voice having no inflection.

"Why?" Rebecca asked, confused. "You said to the others that Lily was yours. I have an inkling of what you meant by that. I'm under your protection because of her, then, because of her belonging to you. It wouldn't look unusual for us to be around one another." She snorted. "Hell, you could tell them I was yours. It wouldn't look too unusual, because of how much I resemble Lily."

"You may resemble Lily, but you are nothing like her," Snape said quickly, his tone almost angry. He stopped, taking in a breath and letting it out slowly. "Why do you want my friendship?"

"Because I feel it only right after what's happened," Rebecca said. "I believe we can also benefit from one another. If I'm seen with you, the other Slytherins are more likely to leave me be. If you're seen with me, it can't hurt your status any, and you may learn some things from me."

At this, Snape laughed: a short, loud spurt of amusement. "Learn from you? Sure, Felan."

"Rebecca."

Again, Snape looked to her, his expression puzzled. "You don't make any sense sometimes—you know that?"

Rebecca shrugged. "I've been told so, but I think I make perfect sense," she said. "I think you're just too scared to admit that I do."

Snape rolled his eyes. "I may be making a mistake, but I suppose you might be right, if only a little bit," he said. "My image wouldn't be hurt by being with you at all."

Rebecca smirked. "Is that all that matters to you? Your image?"

"It's what's going to keep you from a repeat of last night," Snape said.

Rebecca had to agree, and that was exactly what she was counting on now. The Marauders could only do so much for her, and that was outside of the Slytherin common room. On the inside, Snape would be the only one able to help her.

"You do need to get to your dormitory," Snape said again, bringing Rebecca out of her thoughts.

She nodded, standing, going to the door to Snape's room. She looked back over her shoulder.

"See you at breakfast, Severus," she said, friendly.

He waved a hand at her, turning away. Rebecca opened the door, checked the staircase, and then stole down them, going into her own dormitory to change for the oncoming day.


	9. If I Needed Someone

Chapter Nine

**Chapter Nine**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of these characters, except Rebecca. I don't plan on making money off this, either.

A few days passed, and Rebecca was nearly inseparable from Severus. They didn't speak much when they were around each other those first two or three days. Rebecca asked him if she should go as far as to act devoted to him. Severus had given her an odd look, then commented that Lily did no such thing, so she shouldn't.

"Just be quiet in public," he told her one day up in his room while they were working on their Potions homework. "It will work to our advantage."

They had taken to studying together in his room, as it allowed them to speak freely, without the other students butting in, trying to copy off of them, or bothering Rebecca. Severus also told her that it cut back on the amount of talk.

"They think you are mine," he said, "so why would we be out in public?" He gave her an even stare, and she quickly got on.

"Right," she said, feeling a bit uncomfortable with that notion. The other Slytherins actually thought that Severus had taken her as his minion, to do with what he pleased… even _that_. Rebecca couldn't imagine doing _that _for a very long while, if ever. The thought of it made her think back to Rabastan, and she could feel the bile threatening to come up her throat. She tried to push it to the back of her mind as much as possible.

Rebecca was amazed at how gullible the Slytherins were, but if it kept them from trying to harm her again, then so be it. All Bellatrix and her ever-present companions would do now every time that she and Severus passed was watch them from behind her cold, distant eyes. She felt Rabastan staring her down, and it always made her uncomfortable. Severus did not speak about the matter for the first week. After what felt like the millionth time passing the trio of seventh years in the corridor, he finally spoke to Rebecca about it while they were in his room.

She was scribbling on her parchment, her Transfiguration textbook opened to that night's homework. She felt Severus staring at her, and she had noticed that he had stopped writing a while ago. Her own writing soon tapered off, and she looked up at him from underneath her red hair.

"What?" she asked.

"You shouldn't let him get to you," Severus said, then looked down at his parchment.

"Well, what would you say I do?" Rebecca asked, annoyed. "I've tried putting it from my mind, but every time I pass him…!" She stopped, trying not to let the memories come back. "It just hurts, Severus. I want him to go away."

Severus sighed. "He's not going away until he graduates, and that's not till the end of term in June," he told her. "So you'll have to suck it up until then."

Rebecca felt that her eyes would have glowed the same color as her hair, if it were possible, the look she gave him was so fierce.

"Yes, I'll just go and suck up what he almost did to me," she spat, closing her book with a force she had never used on a text before. It made a loud "crack!"

Severus stared at her blankly. "Rebecca," he said slowly, "there is nothing I can do about what Rabastan almost did. Frankly, you're lucky I showed up when I did—"

"I know."

"Let me finish," Severus said evenly. Rebecca quieted, looking at him through her hair again. "You're lucky I didn't arrive a few minutes later. Just try to be thankful for that, at least."

"I am," she said quietly. "It's just…" She shook her head, then sighed, fighting to keep the tears back. "I wish I could punish him for what he did… what he's probably done to other girls… What he might do to other girls." That thought horrified her.

"Revenge?" Severus asked. "Now you're sounding like a Slytherin. I was beginning to think you were devoid of personality." He smirked.

Rebecca paused. "Did you just… make a joke?" she asked, a tiny smile starting to appear on her face.

Severus snorted at her, then shook his head. "Unlike you, I have a sense of humor, and use it often," he said. "You just don't pay attention."

Rebecca stuck her tongue out at him.

"Very mature," he commented, rolling his eyes.

She shrugged. "It was the only thing that came immediately to my mind."

"Perhaps you should stop hanging out with the Marauders so much," Severus said indifferently. "They appear to be rubbing off on you in the worst way possible."

"Why do you hate them so much?" she asked.

Severus gave her a cold, hard stare. She felt the blacks of his eyes boring into hers, and she had to look away.

"They are to me what Bellatrix Black is to you," he said, his voice shaking slightly. Rebecca could tell that he was trying to keep his cool. "In this house, I have the respect that I deserve. They show respect for no one, not even the professors, and especially not to me."

Rebecca decided it would be best not to mention her other friends around Severus for the duration of their friendship.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"Don't pity me, it's a rather disgusting emotion," Severus said, sneering.

"I don't pity you anymore than you pity me," Rebecca told him.

"Let's just get back to our work," Severus said, his anger still evident in his voice.

A long time passed in silence, neither speaking. Rebecca felt like she dared not to speak, for she could feel the air in the room charged with Severus' anger. Finally, she looked up at the clock in his room. It was nearly midnight.

"I… don't want to go back to my dormitory," she said suddenly.

Severus looked up at her, his brows furrowed. "Why?"

"The girls… they give me strange looks," she admitted. "They're followers of Bellatrix, I think. They play cruel jokes on me, take my things. I'm afraid to sleep in the same room with them. They're not afraid to do things to me in the dorm, because they know you can't get up there to get them."

"Well what do you suggest I do about it, then?" Severus asked, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger.

Rebecca stopped before she gave her idea. "I could conjure up a bed and sleep in here," she finally said, her own voice so low she could hardly hear herself.

Severus stopped all movement and looked at her. "What?"

His hand had dropped from his face, showing his widened eyes and disbelieving features.

"I could—"

"No, no, no! I heard you correctly, I just don't see what you're playing at, Rebecca!" he said, standing. "We haven't even been 'friends,' as you call us, for a month, and you suggest us… living together?" He stared at her. "Are you crazy?"

Rebecca cringed. "It's like you said," she told him, "they think I'm yours."

"I'm also protecting Lily using this same lie," Severus said angrily, "but you don't see her living in this dormitory, do you?"

"That's because Lily's is Gryffindor, and she's safe while she's in her dormitory at night," Rebecca said, feeling jealous of the ease Lily was at during her sleeping hours. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I feel like I'm dying every time I go into that dorm room, Severus. I don't want to sleep, not knowing what they'll do to me if I do." She looked at him. "Obviously, you don't have to agree, but I would be in your debt if you would help me."

Severus turned from her and faced the wall. She could hear him muttering under his breath. He spoke to her, still facing the wall.

"Rebecca," he said, "I don't mind having you around as much as I thought I would. In fact, you have your moments where I would consider you my friend. What you're asking of me is a lot more than I think you understand, considering my… circumstances." He looked at her over his shoulder. "But I'll do it."

She looked at him, astonished. "Really?" she asked, grinning. She stood, wanting to hug him, though she knew he wouldn't allow it. "Thank you, Severus! You don't know how much this means to me!"

"Yes, yes," he hissed at her, waving his hand to make her shut up. "Just know you'll be the death of me if this keeps up as it's going. Go get your things. Tell the girls in your dorm whatever you want, they'll dare not tell a professor."

Rebecca smiled again at him before going to her dorm. She couldn't believe she'd actually be able to sleep in peace! She'd be sure to make a good barrier between the two of their beds, to make them feel both at ease, as if they had their own rooms. The bathroom, she thought, would be another story.


	10. That'll Be The Day

**Chapter Ten**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of these characters, except Rebecca. I don't plan on making money off this, either.

* * *

Rebecca had managed to make the room as comfortable as possible, with the help of Severus. Together, they transfigured an extra chair into a four-post bed, complete with the curtains around it, just as Severus' had. Next, they sound proofed their respective curtains. As an after thought, Severus put up a wall that divided their beds from one another, not blocking off the beds from each other, but shielding them enough so one of them could see nothing the other was doing.

Severus nodded approvingly. "I think that's the best we can do," he said, stretching. "I'm tired."

Rebecca did her best to stifle a yawn. "Me, too."

She looked at him for a moment, watching him as he turned to his chest of drawers where they now kept both of their clothes, since neither of them had many. He had the top two drawers, and she the bottom two. Their robes were in their trunks, at the foot of their beds.

"Severus?"

He turned back about to raise an eyebrow at her in curiosity.

She smiled a little. "Thank you again," she said quietly. "I might actually be able to sleep now."

Severus rolled his eyes at her. "You're far too grateful, Rebecca," he said. "I'm not sure how well your friends are going to take this turn of events, though." He smirked.

Rebecca's brow furrowed. "They want my safety as much as I do," she said. "They don't really like my friendship with you, but they tolerate it because it keeps me safe."

Severus scoffed. "They tolerate my existence, how kind of them."

"I told them you were off limits from their pranks from now on," Rebecca told him firmly.

"Because that's going to stop them," Severus growled, looking to his dresser and opening the top drawer. He pulled out a few items, then disappeared behind the wall.

Rebecca sighed. "I know you hate them like I hate Bellatrix, but I promise they have some redeeming qualities to them," she said, her voice raised a bit. "They'll make good on their word."

"And Hell will freeze over," Severus responded, his voice indicating he was in no mood to continue the conversation.

Rebecca waited a moment, then heard him pull the curtains to around his bed. Only then did she go to retrieve her pajamas. Before she went back to her side of the room, she looked to his bed.

"Good night, Severus," she said to the curtains.


	11. You Know What To Do

**Chapter Eleven**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of these characters, except Rebecca. I don't plan on making money off this, either.

* * *

"How do you know he won't turn on you?" Sirius asked the day after she had moved into Severus' dorm room.

"He's nice, all right?" Rebecca insisted. "He did me a very big favor, remember? Now he's protecting me. Besides, you know I couldn't sleep in the dorm room—those girls were horrible to me."

"Maybe Dumbledore would've let you transfer houses," James suggest.

Rebecca gave him a hard stare. "In my fifth year? I don't think so, James."

James shrugged. "Worth asking, don't you think?"

Rebecca sighed. "Listen, I'm sorry that you all don't approve of what I'm doing, but I'm doing it for my safety," she insisted. "Maybe if you two" –She glared at James and Sirius specifically.—"would give him a chance, you'd see he's as good to me as you are, maybe better. He just happens to have a different kind of personality, one that you have to get used to."

She looked down at her feet. Remus and Peter had said very little after she had told the boys what was going on. Finally, Remus looked up.

"Does he have you under a love potion?" he asked.

Rebecca looked up, met his gaze, saw that he was serious, and started laughing. "No!" she said, chuckling. "Why would he want to have me under one of those stupid things? It makes you a mindless, blathering idiot."

"Yes, but you're sticking up for him a bit," Remus argued. "It does make me wonder."

Rebecca folded her arms across her chest. "What, Remus, are you jealous or something?"

James, Sirius, and Peter had been watching the two go back and forth like they were watching a muggle tennis match. Their stares finally rested on Remus.

"No, Rebecca, I'm just concerned for your safety, much more than Severus Snape could ever be, no matter how much you praise him."

He gave Rebecca a hard look, then turned away and walked into the classroom. She watched him go and felt her heart sink a little. She and Remus had always been close, and she was concerned the most with how he was going to take it. Of course it would hurt him; he would feel like he was losing his friend, and he couldn't even know why. She, in turn, had not been very understanding or supportive of his feelings.

She smacked her forehead and sighed. The other three boys watched with interest. Finally, Sirius came up and clapped her on the shoulder.

"You're still gonna go through with our plan, though, right, Becca?" he asked, his tones hushed.

"Of course, why wouldn't I?" she asked, giving him a confused look.

"I was just making sure," Sirius replied. "We're doing it next week, Wednesday night at midnight. Think the git will let you out to come play with your friends?"

Rebecca sighed, exasperated. "I'll be there, all right?" she said, a little harsher than she probably had intended.

"Good," James said, nodding to her. "We'll be seeing you around, then, Becca. Hope you and your room mate get along."

"I hope you guys don't stay mad at me for too long about this."

"We're not mad, Rebecca," Peter finally piped up. "We're just… confused."

"Pete's right," James said, turning about to face her. "We don't even know what brought this on. You're one of our best friends, Becca, you're supposed to tell us things, especially things that matter."

"I already told you I can't," Rebecca said quietly. "More harm than good would come from it."

"We're already sharing a huge secret that could get us all thrown into Azkaban," Sirius said, his voice level and unsympathetic. "What could possibly make you think that we would tell others about your situation?"

Rebecca looked to the floor. "I'll tell all of you tonight, all right?" she asked, defeated. Sirius was totally and completely right… for once. "Make sure Remus comes, too. Room of Requirement? About eight o'clock?"

James nodded, and so did the other two. "We'll be there," James said. "Just make sure you are, too."

* * *

"You're going to tell them?" Severus asked, perplexed. He was quiet, but Rebecca could tell that he was very angry. "I never thought you stupid until this moment, Rebecca," he added, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger.

"I have to," she said, quietly. She wouldn't look up and meet him in the eye. After the time they had been spending together over the past month, Rebecca had noticed that Severus was studying Occlumency and Legilimacy. Now, she tried to divert her eyes from him whenever she didn't want him catching a glimpse of something he shouldn't know. She didn't know how good he could be yet, but she wasn't taking any chances. "My friendship with them depends upon it."

Severus watched her, silently seething with fury. He turned from her, taking a step away, before quickly turning back and getting very close to her. He pointed his forefinger in her face.

"Do not mess this up, Rebecca," he said, his tone low and threatening. "Not only your safety rides on the Marauders' ability to keep their big traps shut, but mine and Lily's, too. Your friends would be in danger. Everything you know would be ruined." He paused, dropping his finger from her face. "Look me in the eye and promise me that they will not tell a soul."

Rebecca looked up, confident. She stared into his black eyes for a long moment, beginning to feel that odd probing sensation again. "They won't tell a soul, not if I ask it of them," she whispered.

Severus met her stare with his own, keeping quiet for a long while after she had spoken. He finally dropped his gaze. "Go to them, then," he said. "At least they're true to their Gryffindor quality: loyalty," he jeered.

Rebecca left their room, intent on going whether Severus had agreed to it or not. He was a kind enough person, his thoughts mostly turned to others and to the future, constantly wondering how it was going to affect not only him, but those he cared about. She marveled how he didn't go insane from it all.

* * *

"They… they really did that to you?" Remus asked, his face pale and his voice hoarse, almost as if he had something lodged in his throat.

Rebecca nodded, looking straight at him. "Severus saved me," she said. "And put me under his protection. I couldn't tell you before because it would have ruined the pact they have with one another."

"It makes sense," James said. "But… why would Snape come to your defense?"

"Because he's not as bad as you think him to be," Rebecca said, deciding to leave out the part about Severus being in love with Lily, and how he thought Bellatrix and the Lestranges were torturing her instead of Rebecca.

"Well, it'll make me think twice before hexing the slimy git again," Sirius said.

Rebecca sighed. "Grow up, Sirius," she growled at him, quickly standing and heading for the door. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and it gripped her gently, making her stop in her tracks.

"Don't leave," Remus said. "I think we need to apologize for how we've been reacting." He gave the others a pointed look. "All of us."

With much grumbling, James and Sirius said their apologies, as well as Peter and Remus. Rebecca smiled lightly at them.

"Just remember, you can't tell anyone," she said. "It's of the utmost importance. We could all be killed if this gets out."

She heard Peter swallow heavily. "I didn't know it was that serious," he whispered, his voice shaky.

"It is," Rebecca told him. "Promise me, all of you… please."

They all agreed. This is when Rebecca said that she needed to get back down to the common room before the prefects started their rounds. They exited the Room of Requirement all at once, then began to go their separate ways. As she turned to leave as well, Rebecca felt a hand grasping hers.

"I'm so sorry, Becca," Remus said when she had turned to face him.

"I know, Rem, it's all right," she said, offering him a tiny smile.

Remus looked down at their linked hands, then squeezed it gently. "Just know that if you need anything, don't hesitate to tell me."

She nodded. "I won't. Thank you."

He dropped her hand, though it seemed unwilling. "Will you be all right with Snape?"

"I can handle myself," she answered. "He's been very nice about this whole thing, especially now."

Remus nodded absent-mindedly. He looked up at Rebecca, looking as though he was about to say something, when he stopped. He nodded again, then smiled a little bit. "See you in Transfiguration tomorrow, Becca."

With that, he turned and walked toward the other Marauders.


	12. Boys

**Chapter Twelve**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of these characters, except Rebecca. I don't plan on making money off this, either.

* * *

The transformation had been a success. The Marauders and Rebecca had performed the necessary spells and transfiguration techniques correctly, and were now Animagi. They had tested for a few minutes, before changing back to their human forms and celebrating, maybe a little loudly, out in their clearing in the Forbidden Forest. After just a few more minutes of this, the boys escorted Rebecca back to the Slytherin common room, underneath James' invisibility cloak, before heading back to their own common room.

Rebecca entered the dorm quietly, peeking in before she even entered. She saw that Severus was still up, doing homework at his desk underneath the window. He did not turn around when the door opened.

She opened the door the rest of the way, stepping into the dorm and closing the door soundly behind her. Turning about, she saw that Severus was now facing her, his eyes calculating.

"Where were you?" he asked, his voice unassuming, full of curiosity.

"Study session with the boys," she lied, hoping effectively, not meeting his eyes. Rebecca walked to their dresser, opening up the drawer that held the clothes she slept in.

Severus grunted. "They study awful late," he commented, turning back to his homework.

Rebecca shrugged, retreating behind the wall separating their beds. She changed into her sleeping clothes, then hung her robes up on the post of her bed. Crawling into bed, she stuck her head out from between the curtains before fully closing them.

"Night, Severus."

There was a pause. "Good night, Rebecca."

* * *

Rebecca was groggy the next morning, but managed to get up before Severus did. She made her way to the bathroom, to take a shower. She felt the slow burn of excitement burning within the pit of her stomach of the previous night's occurrences. They would have to wait until that Sunday, though, when the moon was full, before what they had done could be revealed to Remus. She wondered how he would react.

She had been in the shower for a while, now, unaware of time or much else. She was happy for the alone time. Spending time with Severus was fun, but could be wearing since she was never alone anymore. Rebecca felt, though, that the two were becoming close—at least, as close as Severus Snape would allow anyone besides Lily to get. Rebecca had told Lily what Severus was doing, and the other redhead had merely nodded, smiling behind her fingers at Rebecca.

"What?" Rebecca had asked her, her brows furrowed.

"Nothing," Lily giggled.

"_What_?" Rebecca insisted, getting frustrated.

Lily's smile grew. "Perhaps he has a thing for you, Becca," she suggested. "That's why he's being so nice to you."

Rebecca scoffed. "He called me 'barely tolerable' just after this arrangement was put into place," she said. "That, and he doesn't like anyone, let alone me."

Lily had given her a look, but had dropped it.

Rebecca wondered if she should have told Lily of Severus' undying love for her. Then she recalled the look in Severus' eye when he spoke of Lily, which was almost constantly when they were alone. Their friendship would be ruined if she knew… she could never find out. His words rang in her ear, and she decided that she had done the right thing by not mentioning it to Lily.

Then, the door banged open in the bathroom. Rebecca paused, in the middle of washing her hair. She heard rustling about in the bathroom, and then the sink turned on. She grabbed the shower curtain and wrapped it about her face, looking out into the bathroom.

"What the fuck are you doing?" she asked, trying her best to be calm, though she knew her anger was showing.

Severus' black eyes turned on her. "Since you were taking your bloody sweet time in here, I decided to take matters into my own hands," he growled back at her, before turning back to the sink. He put some toothpaste onto his toothbrush. "I had to brush my teeth sometime before classes began."

"I would've been out in a few minutes, you could've waited," Rebecca said, annoyed.

"You do realize that breakfast starts in less than five minutes?"

"Damn it."

Rebecca rinsed her hair out quickly, washing off the rest of her body. Before exiting the shower, she looked into the bathroom. Severus was gone, and had closed the door behind him.

At least he's somewhat of a gentleman, she thought bitterly to herself as she stepped out of the shower.


	13. In Spite Of All The Danger

**Chapter Thirteen**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of these characters, except Rebecca. I don't plan on making money off this, either.

**Author's Note:** I love reviews- they make me happy. ^_^ Thanks to those who have reviewed and to those who will (hopefully) review.

* * *

"Are you going on another late night study session with your friends?" Severus asked as Rebecca got ready to go out that weekend.

"It's better if you not know what I'm doing, Severus," Rebecca said, putting on her cloak.

"Keeping secrets from me, now, are you?" Severus asked, sounding half-interested.

Rebecca sighed, turning to face him. "What do you care, honestly?"

Severus shrugged. "It just looks very odd for someone who I have claimed to the rest of Slytherin house to be running around with the Marauders."

Rebecca rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you can explain it away to them," she told him, putting her hair up in a ponytail. "I'm not telling you anything."

She turned back to face him, and he looked miffed. She smirked, realizing that she had won for now.

"And do you know when you'll be back?" he asked quietly, slowly turning back to his book.

"Morning."

Severus grunted.

"Why don't you go hang out with Lily tonight?" Rebecca suggested. "She mentioned that she hasn't seen you around much recently."

She could see that Severus had stiffened. "I'm trying to keep my distance from her," he answered, even more quiet than he had been just a few moments ago.

Rebecca paused a moment, staring at his back. "Why?"

"Things that you would be better off not knowing," Severus said, half-turning so he could meet her eye. She nodded.

"I… understand," she told him. "I'll see you tomorrow, Severus."

He nodded, turning back to his book. She went to leave the room, her hand on the doorknob.

"Rebecca?"

She looked back to him, and she saw a small amount of pain in his eyes, with a mixture of so many different emotions, she couldn't pin-point them all.

"Be careful."

He dropped his gaze, turning away from her. She took a moment more to watch him before leaving herself.

She did understand what he had meant earlier. Severus was delving deeper and deeper into the Dark Arts. He had spoken a little to her about it, but nothing too in-depth. He was trying to protect her, as well as Lily. She had discovered that Severus was a very complicated person, and it was going to take a while before he was as open with her as she was with the Marauders; she may never have that type of relationship with the Slytherin boy, but she knew that she felt a certain connection with him. She was unsure what exactly this thing was, but she knew that he was aware of it, too. They were both alike in so many ways, yet so incompatible at times she was amazed they didn't tear each others' throats out.

He felt like he was losing Lily. James had been making many advances on her, and though in previous years he had been very unsuccessful, Lily was starting to accept James' presence. Rebecca knew this was eating Severus up inside, but there wasn't much he could do about it, especially with the amount of time he spent with the others who loved the Dark Arts such as he. Rebecca had caught on to this very early—Severus had alluded to it many times, and she took it as him giving her a subtle hint to be wary of him and the others. She was glad to take it.

She had to clear her thoughts of Severus tonight, as it was the night of the full moon. This night was meant for Remus and the other Marauders, her first true friends. She grinned as she met three of them outside the castle.

"Ready?" James asked, unable to stop his grin, either.

Rebecca nodded. "As much as I can be," she told him.

James looked to Peter, who transformed into his rat Animagi as soon as they were close enough to the Whomping Willow. He scurried under the swinging branches until he came to the knot in the side of the tree. After he had pressed it, the tree stopped. James, Sirius, and Rebecca transformed into their respective forms as quickly as possible. Rebecca thought the sensation very strange, but told herself she would have to get used to it.

They all made their way through the underground path that would lead them to the Shrieking Shack, and where Remus would be staying. Peter rode on James' antlers, so as not to be trampled by his larger counterparts. They finally reached the trapdoor, and James, as the stag, looked to the others. They nodded. Sirius, as the dog, pushed up on the trapdoor. It creaked open, and then they all entered.

A growling greeted them.

Rebecca was the first out of the trapdoor, and she grinned a wolfish grin, wagging her tag at the awaiting Remus, complete in his werewolf form. Remus stopped growling, then sniffed the air. His eyes widened, and he sprinted forward, his own tail wagging, just as the others came through the trapdoor.

* * *

Rebecca entered the dorm room early the next morning, finding Severus still awake. He looked like he had just come in himself, or he had been practicing his wandwork.

"Sleeping today, I take it?" he asked.

Rebecca nodded, not really in the talking mood. She still felt as though she were in her wolf mind a little bit, and re-adjusting back to her human self was a bit strange. She retreated behind the wall that separated them so she could fall onto her bed and just sleep.

The previous night had been loads of fun. Tomorrow, Monday, they would be explaining everything to Remus. Today, he was in the Hospital Wing, recovering from his ordeal from the night before. The change itself was what really took a toll on him, though he seemed fine when she and the other Marauders had left.

"Keep your curtains open today, Rebecca," she heard Severus say from the entrance to her "room."

She opened one of her eyes to look at him. "Why?"

"Because there will be some other Slytherins in here today," he informed her. "You may sleep as much as you wish, or not. I want them to know that you are here." He paused. "I will be telling them some… things. So, I would suggest you sleep."

She stared back at him for a long time, then nodded silently. She closed her eye again.

"It would be better if you were not clothed as such."

"Excuse me?" Rebecca asked, both eyes shooting open.

"It would be—"

"I heard what you said," she said quickly, sitting up. "How should I be clothed, then?"

Severus cleared his throat. "With very little on," he said, his voice hoarse from embarrassment.

"I see," Rebecca said. "To go along with the rouse…"

"Yes," Severus said, no longer meeting her eye. He was ashamed, she could tell.

"I understand," she told him. "It's for the best."

She sighed.

"I'm sorry, Rebecca," he said suddenly. "I'm sorry that there's no other way to keep them at bay. Sometimes I wish things weren't like this, but they are."

He was still looking at the floor.

"You're a good person, Severus," she said. "Why do you still associate with them?"

His eyes locked onto hers. "Because I cannot turn my back on them," he said. "As much as I say that I want things to be different sometimes, the rest of the time is spent like this, in the real world. I'm glad of it. I'm important to them. I belong somewhere." He paused. "You of all people should understand that, Rebecca."

She was unsure of what to say, so she just nodded. He didn't make sense, but he did all at once. She understood the predicament he was in, but wished that he could see there was a way out of it, though it would be hard.

"Will _they_ be here?" she asked, suddenly afraid.

"Most likely," he answered. "Rabastan will not touch you. None of them will touch you. You are here for affect only."

Rebecca closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. "All right," she said. "Leave so I can change and go to sleep."

* * *

When Rebecca woke up, Severus was seated in the entrance to her part of the room. She was groggy, and almost turned over, then remembered that she wore no shirt. She covered herself with the sheet before rolling over to face him.

"How was the affect?" she asked, her voice still heavy with sleep.

"Very powerful," Severus answered. "Those who were disbelieving are no longer. Once they saw you lying there as such, they had nothing else to say."

"They who?"

"Avery, Mulciber, Bellatrix, the Lestranges, the usuals."

Rebecca closed her eyes, but opened them quickly.

"None of them even came close to you, Rebecca, don't worry."

She nodded. "Will they be back?"

"Not likely," he said. "This was more of an impromptu sort of thing. To check up on me, you see."

"To make sure I was actually yours like you said?"

"Basically."

She paused, thinking about it for a moment. "So how long have you been sitting there watching me sleep?"

"Not too long; they left about ten minutes ago."

"More importantly, _why_ were you watching me sleep?"

Severus shrugged. "You're peaceful when you sleep, did you know that?" he said. "Much more peaceful than when you're awake. You worry so much then. It all goes away when you sleep. You can see who people really are while they're asleep."

Rebecca stared at him. "You have too many layers for me to fathom right now, Severus Snape," she told him, rubbing at her eyes. "Now turn around so I can put some clothes on. What time is it?"

He did as she asked. "Time for dinner in a few minutes. Care to join me?"

"Sure, I'm starved."


	14. Do You Want To Know A Secret?

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of these characters, except Rebecca. I don't plan on making money off this, either.

**Author's Note:** I love reviews- they make me happy. ^_^ Thanks to those who have reviewed and to those who will (hopefully) review.

* * *

Christmas break was upon the school. The weather was growing very cold, and the Great Hall was being decorated for the festivities, and it was only the beginning of December. Rebecca couldn't wait for the time when most of the school would leave, when only a few students were left behind. All of her friends were staying over this Christmas break, and that could only lead to more fun, especially now that everything had been explained to Remus about their Animagi forms. He had been so ecstatic, he had been unable to speak for a few minutes, only smile. Rebecca couldn't remember the last time he had grinned so wide.

She was glad that her Marauders were happy. Lily was even doing well, when Rebecca got to spend some time with her. She asked how life with Severus was, and still claimed that she thought her Sev had a crush on Rebecca.

"I still think that's a load of crap, Lily," Rebecca told her. "You need to be studying your Transfiguration."

"Don't change the subject, Becca," Lily sighed, smirking knowingly at her.

Rebecca gave Lily a harsh look, sighing heavily. "Severus does not like me—I know this for a fact."

"Have you asked him?"

"Yes, I have."

Lily's grin fell immediately. "Oh," she said, surprised. She glanced at Rebecca out of the corner of her eye as she opened her textbook. "Sorry."

"What for? I wasn't disappointed."

"I was just kind've hoping…"

Rebecca stared at Lily. "You were hoping we'd get together," she finished for her.

"Well, yeah," Lily told her. "I mean…" She paused, sighing again and pushing her textbook away from her. She leaned over the table, closer to Rebecca, so that only the two of them would be in on their conversation. The library was particularly quiet that night, and though they had seen no one else besides Madame Pince, it didn't mean there weren't prying ears.

"Sev hasn't had the best of lives, you know?" Lily said. "I was kind've hoping that the two of you would hit it off and start seeing each other… in a romantic light."

Rebecca had to stop herself from making a face. "You can't be serious," she managed to say. "Even when we detested each other those first few years, you wanted us to become pals and end up dating? Lily… what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing!" Lily said, her voice rising in pitch for a moment. She lowered it again. "I just wanted someone good for Sev. He's a lovely person, and I knew you'd see that once you gave him a chance; once you'd gotten a bit separated from James and his friends, that is."

"If you wanted someone so good for Severus, then why don't you date him?" Rebecca asked, trying to sound annoyed and not pushy, though she was really trying to help Severus, too.

Lily paused. "I couldn't," she said finally. "We've known each other since we were young. We were best friends since age nine. I couldn't ruin the relationship we have now for anything—I won't. Sev is a very nice person, very deep down; he doesn't let a lot of people know that. I used to be all he really had as a friend. But… he's changing, Rebecca. For the worse, I think." She stopped herself again. "I just couldn't see myself with him, now or ever. We're very different people."

"What d'you mean, 'he's changing'?" Rebecca asked, shaking her head and becoming curious. "Are you talking about his Dark Arts obsession?"

"Oh, so you know."

Rebecca scoffed. "It's hard not to notice, Lily."

Lily sat back in her seat. "Severus was always into the Dark Arts," she whispered. "He showed me a little when we were kids. They scared me, so he never did it again. I tried to get him to stop, to show him that he's better than all of it, especially the kind of people it attracts, but he never listened."

"He's protecting me from those people," Rebecca said, her voice just as soft as Lily's.

Emerald green eyes met their match as the girls' gazes locked. "He told me," Lily whispered. "He told me what happened, Rebecca." Her arms were crossed over her chest. "He told me what he's done for the both of us, claiming us as if we're something to be had and treated like objects. I know why he did it, but it doesn't mean I have to like it." She paused, looking away. "I'm sorry for what almost happened to you. Sev said I shouldn't mention to you that I knew."

Rebecca shook her head. "That boy," she sighed.

"Intolerable sometimes, isn't he?" Lily asked with a slight smile.

"Sometimes?"

Lily caught her eye, and giggled. "A bit."

"Well, at least you know," Rebecca said, leaning forward and looking into her book. She began reading, trying to figure out where to start so that she could help Lily out the most for their test in Transfiguration two days from now.

"Was it bad?" she heard Lily ask, though it was barely audible.

When Rebecca looked up, Lily was biting her lower lip, her eyes full of fear. Some of her red hair was falling into her face. It fell to the side as she leaned forward, taking Rebecca's hand in hers.

"Sev wouldn't tell me everything," she continued. "He didn't tell me what they did." She stopped, looking down at Rebecca's hand, then into her eyes. "How badly did they hurt you?"

"I'm all right, Lily," Rebecca replied, licking her lips a bit. Her mouth had suddenly become very dry, and her head became a bit cloudy as the memories from that night began to pour in. "Sev-Severus came just in time. They performed a few curses… Rabastan almost—" Lily gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. "Sev came and took me back to his dorm, let me sleep there that night. He's been letting me sleep there ever since, because of the girls in my dorm."

"Oh," Lily said, clearly even more shocked now. She lowered her hand from her mouth, but her firm hold on Rebecca's hand never wavered. "How are you now?"

"Getting better," Rebecca admitted. "It still bothers me sometimes, and I'll have a nightmare here and there, but… I'd be a lot worse off if Severus hadn't found me at that moment."

"Good," Lily said, nodding and slowly letting Rebecca's hand go. She paused for a long while, as if thinking everything over. "He told me he thought it was me that they were attacking."

"Yeah." Rebecca wasn't sure where this was going, but she was growing a little uncomfortable.

Lily stared for a moment or two longer, then shook her head. "Anyway, I'm glad that you're better," she said.

"Me, too," Rebecca said, offering up a little smile. "Let's get on this studying."

"No, I can't now," Lily said, shaking her head. "I need to get my mind off of the bad things. Can we talk about something else besides school right now?" She made a face.

Rebecca laughed. "Sure," she told her friend. "Like what?"

"Remus."

Rebecca grew stiff. "What about him?" Did Lily know about Remus?

"He's been asking me a lot about Severus," Lily informed her, watching her very carefully now, as if she knew a secret that Rebecca didn't. "He said that since I knew him the best out of everyone, it seemed it would be best to come to me first. He was worried when you started hanging round him so much. He was afraid Sev had done something to you."

"I explained that to him already," Rebecca started to say.

"I know," Lily continued. "He told me that just the other day, too."

"What hasn't he been telling you would probably be the better question," Rebecca said with a tiny smile.

Lily giggled. "Yes, he's been very open with me," she said. "Unusually so. Mostly asking about you or Severus, or the both of you. Wondering if Sev will treat you nicely, asking about what we've talked about."

"What did you tell him?"

"That Sev was a very nice person, and had already helped you out a lot," Lily replied. "And that what we talked about was none of his business, as it was girl stuff and was going to bore him anyway."

Rebecca chuckled. She had relaxed a bit since it was clear Lily knew nothing about Remus' lycanthropy.

"He fancies you," Lily said suddenly, "he's very obvious on that."

"Huh?"

Rebecca was taken back for a moment or two. Remus was, undoubtedly, her best friend out of the group of boys, but had she missed the signs? Was she really that oblivious?

She heard Lily laugh, and tuned in to her again.

"How could you not have noticed?" she asked. "He says he's been dropping giant-sized hints since we've returned from summer."

"Wait, he _told_ you he fancies me?" Rebecca asked, now growing very confused.

Lily nodded once, drawing it out very slowly. "And he told me he wasn't sure how you'd react, because of the amount of time you were spending with Sev," she continued. "He thinks you like Severus."

"And it was your job to find out if I did or not?"

Lily giggled. "That obvious, eh?"

"Now it is," Rebecca said, making a face and crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned back into her chair.

"And now I can give him the green light?" Lily asked, grinning a bit too widely.

"I suppose so," Rebecca said quietly.

Lily stopped, watching her with concern. "What will you tell him?"

"I dunno," Rebecca said, running her hand through her hair. "He's one of my best friends, Lily." She looked to the other girl. "Tell him what you want. I'll be thinking this over."

She gathered her things and left the library, leaving Lily looked perplexed.


	15. You'll Be Mine

**Chapter Fifteen**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of these characters, except Rebecca. I don't plan on making money off this, either.

**Author's Note:** I love reviews- they make me happy. ^_^ Thanks to those who have reviewed and to those who will (hopefully) review.

* * *

"You've been awfully quiet recently," Severus noted the first night of the Christmas break.

They were out in the common room, as they were the only two Slytherins who had stayed at Hogwarts. This was how it usually was, though a few other Slytherin students would be with them. Rebecca liked this better—it gave her more quiet time, to sit and think.

"Mmm," Rebecca grunted, reading a book that she had checked out from the library. It was something that wasn't related to school at all, but she was distracted too much to even be reading it. She couldn't even remember the title.

Severus was silent, observing her for a few more moment. "You haven't turned the page of your book," he told her. "And it's been ten minutes."

Rebecca sighed heavily. "What, are you watching me constantly now?" she asked, turning to him after shutting her book.

"I'm merely trying to figure out what's wrong with you, Rebecca," he said. He was sitting farther back in the couch, a sign that she had overreacted.

"Sorry," she said quickly, flopping back into the couch.

"Care to talk about it?" Severus asked, raising an eyebrow.

Rebecca thought about it, she really did. She didn't think that Severus would really understand what was going on at this exact moment, especially on this subject.

"Girl things," she said, shaking her head and standing. "I'm going on a walk."

"All right, see you later, then," Severus said, watching her walk out of the common room. He stared at the book that she left on the couch opposite to him, thinking.

* * *

Rebecca was now starting to wish she had grabbed her cloak from the dorm before taking a walk around Hogwarts. It was a bit drafty in the corridors, the school being a castle and everything. She shivered a bit, but kept walking.

She found herself in the Entrance Hall, then on the second floor. Soon after that, she was in the stairway leading up to the third floor, then the fourth. Why was this so bothersome to her? Why wouldn't a simple answer just pop into her head, like it did when she was in class?

Matters of the heart weren't easy. She remembered reading that somewhere, but the exact place escaped her now. She sighed. Maybe she was just going crazy, and needed to submit to it before any further damage could be done.

"Rebecca?"

Startled and taken aback by the familiarity of the voice, Rebecca jumped, covering her heart with her hand. Remus jumped, too.

"Oh, Remus," Rebecca said, calming down almost immediately. Then her heart picked up again just as quickly as it had calmed down. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, my common room is on this floor, you see," Remus said. "So I think the better question might be why you are here."

Rebecca looked around; she was definitely on the seventh floor. She blushed a little.

"I was, erm… taking a walk."

"I see," Remus said, studying her face and the rest of her.

Rebecca squirmed a little bit, crossing her arms to shield herself some more from the slight wind rushing through the corridor.

"You must be freezing," Remus said abruptly, moving closer to her. His hands were around his cloak, and he took the final step toward Rebecca. Before she could react, he had her in a hug, pulled close to his body, and the cloak was wrapped around the both of them.

She would have objected, but she was very cold. And the memorable smell of Remus and his proximity to her was comforting. Rebecca sighed a little, content. She felt Remus relax, and only then did she realize how tense he felt.

"Better?" he asked, breaking the long silence.

"Much, thank you."

Remus cleared his throat. "Why were you taking a walk?"

"I was thinking."

Remus chuckled, and Rebecca could hear it rumble through his chest. "As usual," he said. A brief silence fell over the two of them. "What were you thinking about?"

"Something Lily said to me a week or two ago," Rebecca said.

"Ah," Remus said.

She thought he was going to leave it at that, but she suddenly felt his body pull slightly away from hers. Rebecca looked up, only to meet the soft amber eyes of her friend. She bit her lower lip, uncertain of what to do. Remus, however, seemed to know exactly what to do. His hand reached up, taking her chin into a firm but gentle grip, and he leaned down the few extra inches so that his lips touched hers.

Rebecca took in a breath, but didn't pull away. Remus kept his lips upon hers for only a moment or two, before they began to move against hers. She was surprised when her mouth started to react to his, her lips moving into his. Then she was tasting his tongue on hers, feeling him inside of her mouth. His other hand grasped onto her waist, pulling her flush against his body. Rebecca felt herself relax into his arms, wrapping her own around him. Then, just as suddenly as it had started, Remus pulled away with a final peck to her lips. His eyes opened, looking into hers. Her breathing had heightened, and all she could do was stare back at him.

"I've been waiting to do that for a very long time, Becca," Remus said, his voice hoarser, more gruff than it usually was. "I hope I didn't… take it too far?"

Rebecca shook her head, still unable to speak.

Remus smiled, though she could tell it was a bit nervously. "Please say something, Becca."

Rebecca blinked, and she suddenly felt something click. She placed a hand on Remus' neck, then pulled him down into another kiss. She could feel him smiling as she kissed him with as much passion as he had kissed her just moments before.


	16. Tomorrow Never Knows

**Chapter Sixteen**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of these characters, except Rebecca. I don't plan on making money off this, either.

**Author's Note:** I love reviews- they make me happy. ^_^ Thanks to those who have reviewed and to those who will (hopefully) review.

* * *

"You're… dating Lupin?"

Rebecca could feel the confusion and, for lack of a better word, mild disgust in Severus' voice.

"Well, yes," she said, rather lamely. "Why? What's the matter?"

Severus stared at her for a very long, hard moment. She couldn't drop his gaze; she seemed locked into it.

"I just find it a little puzzling and sudden," Severus said after the moment between them had passed. He acted as though nothing had just happened, as if he wasn't trying to look into her mind like Rebecca always felt he was whenever his gaze was that intent.

Rebecca shrugged. "Lily told me about Remus fancying me last week, before the break started," she told him.

"So that's what you've been thinking about all this time," Severus said, as if he had had an epiphany. "Why didn't you say anything to me?" His brows furrowed, and he looked hurt for all but a moment before it hid behind his ever-present stone face. "Did you think it was too girly a subject for me to handle?"

"I just didn't know how you'd react," Rebecca admitted. "That, and I didn't know how deeply our friendship went at this point, Severus." She brought her legs up onto the couch before her chest and rested her chin upon her knees. "I didn't think you'd want to be concerned with this, much less react the way you are to it."

"Well, think of it this way, Rebecca," Severus said, now pinching the bridge of his nose. "You cannot date Remus publicly."

Rebecca dropped her eyes to the floor. "I know," she murmured.

Severus whipped himself to face her. "And does Lupin know?"

She nodded. "I told them what you did for me—have been doing for me, you know that," she explained quickly, lifting her head off her knees to meet his eyes. "He knows we have to keep it a secret."

Severus stared at her. "Do you think this a wise decision, Rebecca?" he asked, his voice very quiet. "What happens if he slips where the others can see?"

"You're concerned with just him slipping?"

"I know of your capabilities, and I've taught you to be a better actor than that," Severus remarked. "Lupin, on the other hand…"

"I'm starting to think you have something against him," she said, standing and walking toward him a bit. "Do you, Severus? What's the harm in me dating someone I care for, someone who just happens to be one of my best friends?"

Severus stared directly into her eyes, now that she was invading his personal space by being only a few inches from the tip of his nose. She would have her answer, and she wanted it clear that there was no way for him to get out of it. Severus' eyes darted away from hers, and a look of shame passed over his features.

"I don't want him to hurt you, Rebecca," he said, his voice a whisper.

She backed away a few steps. "What?" she asked, incredulous. "Is that it?"

Severus sighed and met her eyes again. "You and Lily are my two… friends," he continued. "My only friends. The others, they don't count. I've cared for her since we were nine; I've watched out for her ever since we came to this school. I would die if something were to happen to Lily." He paused, studying her reaction to his words carefully. "Since you've begun living in my room with me, I feel that our friendship can grow to be similar to the one Lily and I share… I feel that we are close, Rebecca, and that I would feel hurt if something were to happen to you, just as your Marauder friends might feel."

She looked at him, unsure of what to say.

"That is why I seem to have something against Lupin," Severus said. "So if you can assure me that no harm will come to you, then I won't be so… averse to the idea of him seeing you."

"I'm starting to see a new side to you almost everyday, Severus Snape," Rebecca said, looking at him with a new light. She went forward and hugged him.

Severus seemed a little awkward, but eventually put his arms around her for a brief hug. She expected this.

Rebecca stepped back and smiled a little at him. "I don't think Remus will hurt me," she said. "I'm almost positive. If nothing else, he will end it before he hurts me, if only to save our friendship… He's like you are with Lily to me, in a sense."

"I see," Severus said, nodding. "You don't need my permission, Rebecca—I'm not your father."

Rebecca shivered. "Nor would I want my father anywhere around my friends or this castle."

Severus nodded understandingly. "I still don't think it's a good idea, but I can't tell you what to do." He sighed. "Date Lupin, but if the other Slytherins get suspicious… I don't know what we'll do."

"I'm sure we'll figure it out if it comes to that," Rebecca told him.

"I suppose we will."

They stared at one another for one more moment before Severus dropped his gaze.

"We should go to bed," he told her, turning toward his side of the room. "We've both had… many interesting things happen today."

"What will tomorrow bring?" Rebecca asked, sarcasm filling her voice and rolling her eyes and bit at Severus' back.

She thought she heard him chuckle as she turned to go to her own side of the room.


	17. Help!

**Chapter Seventeen**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of these characters, except Rebecca. I don't plan on making money off this, either.

**Author's Note:** I love reviews- they make me happy. ^_^ Thanks to those who have reviewed and to those who will (hopefully) review.

* * *

Rebecca was studying with James, Sirius, and Peter in the library. It was the night of the full moon, but because of a test in Charms the next day, the three could not join Remus in the Shrieking Shack tonight. It tugged at Rebecca's heart to think of him out there by himself, especially since they hadn't had a lot of time together in the few weeks their relationship.

James was fidgeting every so often, looking out the window that faced the Whomping Willow. Rebecca noted this, but decided to wait a little while before calling him out on it. Finally, Sirius got up to use the restroom. After he was out of ear-shot, James sprung up and grabbed Rebecca by the wrist.

"We have to go help Snape," he told her firmly, beginning to drag her out of the library. "Pete, you stay here and keep Sirius busy until we get back."

"Al-all right," Peter stuttered from behind them, sounding extremely nervous.

Rebecca shot James a look. "Save Severus from _what_, exactly, James?"

"Sirius dropped a big hint on where Remus goes during the full moon," James quickly explained, not stopping and continuing to pull her along. "He did it right in front of Snape."

Rebecca's eyes grew wide. Severus had figured it out, she was sure of it. He had been dropping hints ever since the beginning of the term. Now, he was going to walk right into the jaws of an angry werewolf. She picked up the pace, now running in front of James.

"What was Sirius trying to accomplish? Getting Severus killed?" she asked furiously.

"He just wanted to scare him a little bit!"

Rebecca whirled upon him, her teeth bared as though she were in wolf form. "And you let him go along with this?" she growled at him. "You're as stupid as he is! If anything happened to Severus, Remus would feel horrible! And think of everything Severus has done for me!" She turned around and started running even faster.

They finally reached the Entrance Hall, and she and James flew out of it. They drew nearer to the Whomping Willow, and she could spot someone going through the tiny entrance at its trunk. Her heart raced as they neared the tree.

"Damnit!" she shouted as the branches began swinging again just as they got to the willow. She turned to glare at James. "I'm going to change. When I get the branches stopped, follow close behind me. I'll keep Remus busy while you save Severus. Got it?"

James nodded quickly, watching as Rebecca changed into the great white wolf that was her animagi form. She dodged the branches, getting hit by a few of them. Thankfully, none of the ones that hit her were too big, so she was able to keep going. Finally, she reached the trunk, pressing the knot that would make the branches stop their endless swinging. She barked at James, who ran toward her quickly.

Rebecca, now Moonshine, disappeared into the hole in the trunk of the willow, following the path as fast as her four paws could carry her. She caught sight of the trapdoor at the end of the path, and her heart sank when she discovered that it was open. Not bothering to wait for James, she leapt through the trapdoor, landing on her feet in the middle of the main room of the shack.

Immediately, she heard the growling, and turned to see Remus the werewolf baring his teeth at Severus, who cowered in a corner, his hand shaking so much he couldn't reach for his wand. Without a second thought, Moonshine tackles Moony to the floor, catching the surprised look on Severus' face as she did. Moony was not pleased at being interrupted, and snapped at Moonshine. She snapped right back at him, all the time keeping herself between the werewolf and Severus.

With relief, she spotted James running across the room. He grabbed Severus by the shoulders and heaved him up. Severus was a little weak on his feet from shock, but managed to run with James back to the trapdoor. They didn't close it behind them, which would make it easy for Rebecca to follow them.

Moony snapped again at her throat, now in a complete rage, not recognizing even her. It hurt a bit, but now was not the time to think of that. She began to try and muscle him up the stairs that were on the other side of the room. Looking for the step that creaked, she found her target, ramming her paw into it, pulling it back out quickly. It left a nice hole, one that the gigantic paws of Moony would get easily caught in.

Turning quickly, Moonshine bumped Moony toward the hole she had created. Moony let out a surprised yelp as he fell through, trying to regain his footing at the same time. His foot was held steadfast by the wooden steps. He growled at Moonshine, still snapping at her to keep her from attacking him.

She ran toward the trapdoor, sure that he would not follow. Glancing over her shoulder, she gave him a sad look and sighed before exiting through the trapdoor, catching the handle with her teeth to close it firmly behind her.

Now running along the path that would lead her to James and Severus, her mind was racing as she did so. The entrance was in sight, and she raced through that as fast as she could, unsure if the branches would be spinning on the other side. Thankfully, they weren't as the boys had just exited themselves. Severus lay against a rock, James standing over him, trying to explain.

Moonshine came trotting over to them, panting. Severus stared at her, bewildered. Suddenly remembering what she looked like, and that she was still angry with James and needed to scold him more, she changed back into her human form. Now Severus' eyes were wide. Rebecca ignored him long enough to look at James.

"I still can't believe you did that, James," she said, her voice still reminiscent of a growl. "You guys really didn't think. What would've happened if he'd have killed him?"

James wouldn't meet her eyes. "It was Sirius' idea," he muttered. "Scold him."

Rebecca looked up when she heard footsteps hurrying near them. "Well, speak of the devil," she said, her eyes narrowing as Sirius, with Peter trailing behind him, closed the distance between them.

"Sirius Black, you're a complete moron!" she said as soon as he was close enough. He stopped suddenly, but she smacked him in the back of his head. "You deserve so much more than that for your fucked up little schema."

Sirius held his head, shying away from Rebecca, but she wasn't through yet. "Oh, no you don't, Padfoot, we're having a talk!"

"Talk?" Sirius said, trying to dodge her hands, which were grabbing for him. "Bloody hell, woman, you're going to kill me!"

"I should!" Rebecca screamed at him, then stopped, panting, staring at him. "What if Severus had gotten killed? This was more than a scare-tactic, Sirius, this is someone's life! Two peoples' lives!" She ran her hands through her hair, aggravated. She looked back up at him. "Can't you think of anyone besides yourself for once?"

Severus was trying to get to his feet, James holding his upper arm. "Becca, we should take him to Dumbledore," James said quietly.

Rebecca sighed, turning to see Severus looking weakly from one Marauder to the other. She nodded, going over to him and offering her shoulder to lean on. That he did more willingly than he would with James.

"Just make sure Sirius and Pete come, too," Rebecca said. "Dumbledore's going to want them there."

They began the trek to the Headmaster's office, Rebecca helping Severus, who was still in a state of shock.

"Lupin," he whispered, so low Rebecca couldn't almost hear it. "I knew it…"

"Hush, Severus," she said, shaking her head.


	18. What You're Doing

**Chapter Eighteen**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of these characters, except Rebecca. I don't plan on making money off this, either.

**Author's Note:** I love reviews- they make me happy. ^_^ Thanks to those who have reviewed and to those who will (hopefully) review.

And yes, I know that this was supposed to happen during their 6th year, but I took some artistic license, as I thought it would do better in my story if it went here. Why? Well, just because. Hope you enjoy it regardless of its slight AU.

* * *

Rebecca thought Dumbledore didn't seem too surprised to see them. That is, he didn't seem too surprised to see James, Peter, Sirius and Rebecca. The look in his eye was that of astonishment when Rebecca was allowing Severus Snape to use her shoulder for support.

She was still too angry to explain too much to the Headmaster, so she nudged Sirius, who admitted to everything.

Dumbledore looked over the five of them with sparkling eyes. Severus still had a dazed expression on his face.

"Mr. Black, you have caused a hundred house points to be lost this night," Dumbledore stated clearly, though his expression was as flat as the tone of his voice. "Mr. Potter, I expected better of you, though in the end you did tell Miss Felan about the so-called 'prank'. Fifteen points from Gryffindor for that. Mr. Pettigrew, you seemed to know nothing of this, so you may continue to remain out of the loop."

The Headmaster's eyes fell upon Rebecca, who he studied for a few moments. "Miss Felan, I have seen a great transformation in you over the past few months," he began. "Your bravery in this situation surpasses everything I could have imagined from you when you first arrived to Hogwarts five years ago." He paused a moment. "You may have the one hundred and fifteen points that Gryffindor has lost this night for your own house."

James and Sirius looked dumbfounded, but Rebecca merely nodded.

"Now, if Messers Potter, Black and Pettigrew would remove themselves from my office and return to their dormitories immediately, I would be most grateful," Dumbledore said, casting a stern gaze upon the Gryffindors. "Miss Felan and Mr. Snape will be with me for a few moments more, and then they will be off to their respective dormitories as well."

The Gryffindor boys gave Rebecca a look, but she would not meet their gazes. Rejected, the boys exited Dumbledore's office quietly. After another few moments, the Headmaster turned spoke again.

"Tell me, Miss Felan," he said, curiosity peaked, "how exactly were you able to overcome Mr. Lupin in his… current condition?"

"Remus and I are friends, sir—"

Dumbledore raised his hand. "I know that you are not so naïve, Miss Felan, to think that a werewolf maintains his human mind when there is fresh meat about."

She looked to the ground. Rebecca could not break the pact that she and the other boys had formed, especially not to the Headmaster.

Dumbledore took a seat behind his desk, waiting to see if she would speak. When she did not, he steepled his fingers and sighed.

"Rebecca, I assure you that you may tell me anything at all at this very second, and it will not leave my office," he said, looking directly into her eyes. "You have my word as Headmaster."

Rebecca took in a deep breath. She looked to Severus, who seemed to be coming around. Looking back at the Headmaster, who awaited her answer ever-patiently, she shrugged. She placed Severus in a chair in front of Dumbledore's desk, then met the older man's eyes.

"I transformed into my animagus form and distracted Remus, sir," she said quietly.

"I see," Dumbledore said, his expression never changing. He remained in the same position that he had been. "And how long have you been an animagus, Rebecca?"

"Almost the whole term, sir," she answered.

Dumbledore thought about this silently. "Well, I believe that explains much, Miss Felan," he said, sitting back in his chair. "I have no further questions for you." Dumbledore believed himself to have figured out what exactly had occurred; he believed Rebecca was the only animagus in the group. She was powerful enough, he figured, to have done all of the necessary preparations by herself. If only he could register her with the Ministry… She would go down in the record books! Perhaps he could talk to her about her situation at another time.

The Headmaster turned his attentions upon Severus. "Now, Mr. Snape," the old wizard said gently, "I am aware of your dislike for Mr. Lupin. I cannot have you going about the school spreading this news of Mr. Lupin's… differentness."

Severus looked at the Headmaster. "Sir?" he asked.

Rebecca thought she detected a hint of fear in his voice, which shook ever so slightly.

"Mr. Snape, I must ask you to perform the Unbreakable Vow," Dumbledore continued. "This way, you may never reveal what you have learned about Mr. Lupin. If you will not agree to this, then I will have to perform a memory charm upon you." He paused, giving Severus an even look. "The choice is yours, Mr. Snape."

Rebecca looked nervously to Severus, who looked to the floor in contemplation. She took a step towards him and placed her hand on his shoulder. He looked to her, meeting her gaze for a few moments. He stood, Rebecca's hand falling from his shoulder.

"I will perform the vow, sir," Severus told the Headmaster boldly. "Though I respect you, I will not have my memories tampered with."

"As you wish, Mr. Snape," Dumbledore said, inclining his head in ascension.

* * *

Rebecca and Severus exited Dumbledore's office about ten minutes later. Both were quiet as they made their way back to the dungeons.

"You didn't have to promise not to tell about my being an animagi," Rebecca told him quietly.

"I wanted to add that in there," Severus said. "It will protect you further from what I delve into."

She gave him a look. "And what exactly do you delve into, Severus?"

"That is none of your business."

"I believe it is if it might involve me."

Severus sighed. "It's not something that someone of your blood should know about, Rebecca. And I know that you're smart enough to figure it out from there, so just drop the subject."

He wouldn't look at her the rest of the way to their dormitory. Rebecca thought about this silently, thinking that Lily's worst fears about her dear Sev had come true. When they reached their dormitory, Severus went over to his desk to begin working on an assignment. Rebecca leaned against the wall that separated their beds and watched him.

"You're in league with him, aren't you?" she asked, her voice rather low.

Severus turned about in his chair and stared at her. "Not as of yet; I'm not of age."

Rebecca was silent another moment. "Why, Severus?"

"Because I'm in far too deep," he answered. "I know far too many people, like Lucius Malfoy, who is in his inner circle."

"But… you don't believe in what he believes, do you?" she asked, her arms crossed over her chest. "You couldn't."

He didn't answer for a very long time, and Rebecca grew worried.

"But- but you're friends with me and Lily," Rebecca said. "You're her best friend!" she shouted at him. "You're my friend! You can't think that!"

Severus stood quickly, casting a charm about the room that would sound-proof it from listening ears. He replaced his wand within his robes and strode over to her. Rebecca recoiled from him.

"No!" she said, glaring at him. "You answer me, Severus Snape! Answer me right this instance! Do you believe what he preaches?"

Severus sighed. "On occasion."

Rebecca looked at him incredulously. "What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

"Rebecca, you just don't get it," Severus said, shaking his head. "Dumbledore's ways are dying. The Dark Lord is gaining power everyday, and more followers. He wants to protect the wizarding way of life."

"By killing mudbloods and muggles," Rebecca growled at him.

"That's not all it's about!" Severus protested. "That's not what I believe, Becca!"

"Then what _do_ you believe, Sev?"

"I believe that we need to be kept safe," he said quietly. "Muggles are encroaching upon our territory day after day. Someday, they'll know about us, and they'll want us destroyed. Don't you remember history? All of those witch hunts?"

"Of course," Rebecca said. "But that doesn't mean that will happen now." She looked at him with disgust. "I thought I knew you, Severus. I can't believe what you're actually telling me."

He rolled his eyes. "It's not like I'm asking you to join or anything."

"I would never, even if I was a pureblood," she snapped. She turned away from him, taking in a deep breath.

"You can still get out, Severus," she said to him quietly. "There's still time. I know you're not like this. Lily knows you're not like this, more importantly." Rebecca paused. "She's worried about you. She doesn't like how you're changing. Can't you do this, just for Lily?"

"This is how I protect Lily," she heard his voice tell her.

Rebecca turned to face him suddenly. "I saved your life tonight, Severus," she said, "both James and I did. You owe the both of us at least something."

Severus sneered. "I owe that bloody tart nothing!"

"At least he's not a hypocrite," Rebecca spat. "How can you call yourself our friend?"

"If you don't like me so much, why don't you go back to your goddamn dormitory?" Severus yelled.

Rebecca stayed quiet.

"Because you'll get hurt again," Severus answered for her, his voice barely holding back the anger he was still seething with. "I'm the only thing keeping you from being a nervous bloody wreck everyday of your life." He paused, and she saw him staring at her. "You may not like this part of me, Rebecca, but this is what's keeping you safe. This is where I belong, where people respect my cunning and intelligence. I'm already more than what I could have hoped for in his group of followers, and I'm only sixteen." He looked at her for a few more tense, quiet seconds before turning away.

"I'm going to bed," he told her. "I suggest you do the same."


	19. Slow Down

**Chapter Nineteen**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of these characters, except Rebecca. I don't plan on making money off this, either.

**Author's Note:** I love reviews- they make me happy. ^_^ Thanks to those who have reviewed and to those who will (hopefully) review.

* * *

When Rebecca awoke the next morning, she found a small flower sitting on the table next to her bed. She rubbed her eyes a moment, trying to get the sleep out of them, and sat up to take a closer look at it.

The flower was transfigured to look as such, probably from a quill pen Severus had lying around, Rebecca assumed. It was a rose, but instead of being a usual rose-color, it was bright orange, to match both her hair and her favorite color. She smirked, but shook her head.

"Am I forgiven?" she heard his voice purr. Rebecca looked up to see him standing in the entrance way to her part of the room.

"I don't believe there's any way I can forgive you, Severus," Rebecca told him flatly. "The flower is beautiful, and I thank you for it."

Severus' brow furrowed. "It will never wilt," he told her, his voice deep.

"I will not stop being your friend, Sev," Rebecca told him, feeling comfortable with the nick-name.

"Nor I yours, Becky."

Rebecca raised an eyebrow at him. He shrugged.

"I figured since you used something Lily calls me, I would do the same," he explained.

"Lily doesn't call me Becky."

"Oh," Severus said, looking a bit embarrassed.

"That's all right, Sev, you can call me Becky."

He nodded.

"As I said, I will never forget what you are, Severus," Rebecca continued. "But I can also not overlook all the kindness you've shown me." She paused, standing and looking at the flower before putting it down and approaching him. "I know you're a good person, Severus Snape. I just wonder how long it will be until you realize it."

He stared at her, baffled.

"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go visit Remus in the hospital wing," she said, stepping past him and heading toward the dresser. "He'll need to be consoled about last night."

"He'll remember it?" Severus asked.

"His memories are a bit fuzzy, he says, rather different, but he'll remember well enough."

* * *

Remus and Rebecca's conversation had to be quiet so Madam Pomfrey could not hear them. The poor boy was nearly inconsolable. Rebecca tried to give him a kiss, but he turned his head, ashamed.

"It's all right, Remy," she told him. "Severus is fine." She paused. "Gryffindor's short a hundred and fifteen points, though. I managed to pick them up for Slytherin for my bravery, if that makes you feel better."

"I can't believe I attacked you," he whispered. "I didn't hurt you?" He would not look at her.

"Not even a scratch," she informed him. "See?" She showed him her arms and legs, around her face and neck, as well as her shoulders. "You didn't hurt anybody, Remus. James and I got there just in time. Sirius has been punished enough for it; he won't do something this stupid again."

Remus sighed, then finally looked to her. "I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted, dearest Moony," Rebecca said with a smile. She reached out and grasped his hand gently, and she felt him tighten his grip some.

He sighed. "I miss you," he said. "Spend some time with me later tonight. Please? We can meet in the Room of Requirement, just the two of us."

Rebecca giggled, leaning forward. "Remus, are you trying to seduce me?"

"Perhaps," he said with a grin.

They heard footsteps and dropped hands, wiping the smiles from their faces.

"Eight o'clock," Rebecca said quickly. "Don't be late."

Remus nodded just as Madam Pomfrey came to shoo Rebecca away.

* * *

Rebecca was early to the rendezvous in the Room of Requirement. She was wearing not the school robes, but regular clothes: a nice pair of pants and a green long-sleeved shirt (after all, it was early April and the castle was drafty) to show off the color of her hair. She waited patiently for Remus to come.

A smile sprang to her face as he entered the room. He grinned back at her and held out his arms. She went to him quickly and buried her face in his sweater, taking in his smell. They stayed like that for a few moments before Remus pushed her away gently and led her toward the couch.

They sat down, Rebecca sitting half on the couch and half in Remus' lap. He sighed contentedly, burying his nose in her hair.

Rebecca thought that since they had begun dating, nearly three months ago in early January, the two of them had never had alone time. Well, they had never had this much alone time. There were always moments in the corridor where they would hug one another or kiss the other fleetingly, or times when Remus snuck her into the common room late at night with James' borrowed invisibility cloak. On these few occasions, they cuddled on the sofas under the cloak for about thirty minutes before Remus took her back to her own common room. They hadn't gone past kissing. Rebecca wasn't sure how to take it any further, or if she could right now.

Remus nuzzled her ear, bringing her out of her thoughts. She giggled and wrapped her arms about his neck as hers snaked around her waist. He kissed her cheek. She could feel him grinning against her skin. He kissed her neck next, very lightly, and she shivered slightly, unable to help herself.

She turned to face his lips, which she gave a chaste peck before kissing more deeply. Her hand was resting comfortably in the crook between his neck and shoulder. His tongue soon began probing her lips for access, which she allowed. It felt good to be kissing him again, as they had not had a real kiss in nearly a month now. After a minute or two, Rebecca could feel him beginning to harden underneath her. She pulled away; he groaned, reaching out for her with both his lips and his hand, pleading for more.

"Maybe we should stop before this gets too much further," Rebecca said quietly, scooting off of him and onto the couch.

Remus groaned again, closing his eyes, but not saying anything.

"What?" Rebecca asked, concerned.

He wouldn't speak.

"Remus, tell me please," Rebecca said.

He opened his eyes and leaned forward. "I want to touch you, Becca," Remus admitted, staring into her eyes. "You're just so… tempting."

Rebecca looked at him incredulously and was about to speak before he shook his head and put out his hands.

"Let me rephrase that," he said quickly. He took a deep breath in and then let it out slowly before meeting her eye again. "Becca, we've been friends for a long time. You know I'd never hurt you, ever, on purpose." He paused. "Well, when I'm in my right frame of mind you know I wouldn't."

"I know…"

"I know that you've… been through a traumatic experience, and I never wanted to rush you," Remus continued, reaching out to take her hand in both of his. "I really enjoy the time we spend together, no matter what we're doing. But I really, _really_ like kissing you, Becca. I just… want to know if there's ever a chance that we could do more than just kiss."

Rebecca was quiet.

"You know I care about you, Becca," Remus said quietly, pushing a stray strand of hair from her face. "I won't if you don't want to, I promise. There'll be no pushing from me. You have my word."

She wouldn't look at him; she was deep in thought.

Remus furrowed his brows and inclined his head to see her better. "Becca?"

"We can try," she finally said, looking up at him.

He smiled at her, touching her cheek softly. He began to move her slowly towards him again. She made things easier by positioning herself half on his lap again. As she kissed him, she tried to forget everything but him. She didn't want her memories interrupting an important moment like this.

Remus reached carefully, slowly, for her shoulder. He massaged that a little bit, making his way down. She knew he was going for her breast, her left one. She tensed up a bit, already nervous. Finally, she felt his fingers there.

He thought he was triumphant, allowing his hand to rest fully on her breast, even attempting to squeeze it. Rebecca pulled away, shaking her head. Standing, she crossed her arms and went across the room to pull herself together. She couldn't bear to look at Remus at this moment, so she shut her eyes tightly and held onto herself.

She heard him approaching, and he wrapped her up tightly. "It's all right, Becca," he whispered to her, kissing the top of her head. "I won't force you, I promised. I'll not be like him, never."

She wanted to cry at what he said, but fought back and just nodded. "Can we just cuddle?" she asked quietly.

"Anything you want, darling."

He led her back to the couch, where he sat down first and she next to him. Leaning against him, he held her tightly, resting his head on the side of hers. They remained like that, silent, for many minutes, listening to the others' breathing and heart rates.

"Remus?"

"Yes, Becca?"

"I don't think I can do this."

"I already told you, I won't rush."

"No. I mean this relationship… I don't think I can do this now." She was biting her lower lip, waiting for his reaction.

He stopped mid-breath and was very still.

"I think it would be better if we continued our friendship," Rebecca said, wanting to get her feelings out before he spoke again. "Perhaps we can pick up after Hogwarts, if our feelings allow it. It's just… there's too much going on, especially with" –She swallowed, afraid.—"Bellatrix and the Lestranges, and the other Slytherins. They'll make it tough, Remus. I don't want to get hurt anymore than I already did by them." She paused. "You do understand, don't you? You know I'm doing this for our benefit?"

He was quiet for many moments more. His hold on her loosened, and he let go of her, but wouldn't look at her.

"I understand," he told her. "I wish it weren't so, but I think you're right."

He stood, and she looked at him with sad eyes.

"Just know I'll be waiting for your after graduation, Rebecca," Remus told her. "As long as your feelings are unchanging, I'll be there to take you into my arms again and kiss you like we did on that first night." He turned around and gave her a tiny smile. "I will still be seeing you along with the others at the full moons?"

Rebecca smiled at him. "Of course."

* * *

She went back to the common room quiet, contemplative. Severus was up, as usual, reading a book that Rebecca couldn't see the title of.

"And how did everything go?" he asked absent-mindedly, turning to the next page in his text.

"I broke up with Remus."

Severus stopped and let the page fall, turning to look at her with a raised eyebrow. "And why, might I ask, did you do that, seeing as how you were bound and determined to date him in the first place?"

"Too stressful," she admitted. "We both need to focus on our O.."

Severus' look hardened. "You're not telling all the truth, Becky."

Damn him, Rebecca thought.

"I couldn't have him touching me," Rebecca said, knowing he would bother her until he got the full answer. "We could only kiss. I know he wanted more, but I just can't."

Severus thought about this for a moment, then suddenly smirked. "Well, and here I was thinking Lupin didn't have a backbone," he remarked, chuckling. "Yet he's apparently as hormonal as the rest of them."

Rebecca put a hand over her face. "Sev, you're not helping," she said. "It really hurt, you know."

"I already told you to get over it months ago," Severus said. "I don't know what else I can do. This is something you have to work out for yourself, Rebecca."

"You could modify my memory," she suggested.

"What?" Severus said. "No, I won't."

"But we practiced them in class—"

"I said no, Becky," Severus said sternly. "This is something you must do for yourself. Everyone has their demons that they must conquer, and they will either come out triumphant and better for it, or let those demons rule their life forever. Take your pick."

He turned back to his book, shutting out Rebecca for good. She sighed and went to her side of the room.


	20. I'm Down

**Chapter Twenty**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of these characters, except Rebecca. I don't plan on making money off this, either.

**Author's Note:** I love reviews- they make me happy. ^_^ Thanks to those who have reviewed and to those who will (hopefully) review.

* * *

Rebecca felt herself slowly getting over it. It was like all her tension that she had built up over that year was slowly going away. Severus was right, he had been right all along. She had to get over these feelings, the memory of Bellatrix and the Lestranges. Things could have been so much worse.

She could pass the trio of seventh year Slytherins in the corridor without so much as a sideways glance. This seemed to concern them, or at least annoy them. But still they could do nothing to her, and for that Rebecca felt triumphant. Of course, she still had those moments where Rabastan and she passed one another in the common room or corridor, alone. Those could not be helped. He was a sick boy, too deeply set in his ways to probably ever change. Rebecca just hoped he couldn't hurt anyone else.

Remus noticed the change in her first. He slowly began to build his hopes up for the return of their relationship. She could tell from the way he acted around her. He cornered her after class one day, pulling her into a darkened corner of the corridor where he tried to kiss her, a big grin on his face.

She turned her cheek to him, waiting patiently for him to stop.

He stopped short of her cheek, the grin disappearing. Confusion lit up his eyes. "Becca?"

She looked up at him and said quietly, "I told you, Remus… not while we're still here."

"But… you're better. We've all noticed. Me, James, Sirius and Pete, we all can see your confidence. You're not afraid anymore, Becca." He paused and gave her a small smile. "I'm so proud of you."

She had also, over the weeks, allowed Sirius to get back into her good graces. She tended to ignore him, sometimes, if he got too out of hand. He and James were still the pranksters, but they had been leaving the Slytherins out of it for the most part.

"I'm getting better, Remus," Rebecca said, sighing. "But I don't want anything to happen while I'm here at Hogwarts. It wouldn't be good for us, not with everything that's going on in the world." She gave him a pointed look.

Remus looked dejected, inconsolable.

Rebecca sighed again, distraught at his reaction. "Remy, don't look like that—"

"No, I'm sorry, Becca," he said. "I told you I wouldn't push you, and now look at me." His voice was low, but harsh. "Perhaps this werewolf isn't…" He didn't finish his thought, shook his head, and turned from her.

"Remus, stop!" Rebecca said, grabbing for her arm. Her fingers brushed the cloak that covered his arm, but couldn't stop him. She felt the tears spring to her eyes at the inferences he had just made.

She had to stop herself short from crying. She had a class to go to, one where Remus would not allow her to sit next to him. She could tell this was going to be a long day, a long week, even. They were entering the final weeks before their O.W.L.s, and all of the fifth years were tense.

* * *

Rebecca and Lily were in the library, the latter helping the former with some of her charm work. Rebecca had told Lily all about Remus, and it was affecting how well she was doing with her charms. After the fifth or so attempt at casting a silencing charm upon a tiny bird that Lily had transfigured from a quill pen. The bird sang quietly enough that only the two of them could hear it, and not Madame Pince, who sat many yards away from them.

Rebecca slammed down her wand hand upon the table, the wood meeting wood and sending a loud crack through the quiet library. The other students who were there looked up, irritated, and Madame Pince hushed them loudly. Rebecca gritted her teeth and managed an apologetic look to the students and librarian. She sat down heavily in her chair.

"Maybe we should go on a walk," Lily suggested quietly. "You can't practice your charms when you're so upset."

Rebecca nodded and got up, following Lily. They talked for a long while about Remus and his reaction to rejection. Their conclusion was that he would come around eventually, either one way or another. Rebecca sighed and figured that waiting him out would be the best thing to do.

Before going back to her common room, she was able to cast a perfect Silencing Charm on Mrs. Norris, who had been yowling at her just outside of the wall leading to the room. Rebecca smirked at the cat, then entered the Slytherin common room.


	21. A Day in the Life

**Chapter Twenty-One**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of these characters, except Rebecca. I don't plan on making money off this, either. All of the familiar quotes you will see in this chapter are from J.K. Rowling's book _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_, American edition, Chapter 28 "Snape's Worst Memory." To avoid any copywrite laws and angry people and such.

**Author's Note:** I love reviews- they make me happy. ^_^ Thanks to those who have reviewed and to those who will (hopefully) review.

* * *

So far, O.W.L.s had gone over surprisingly well, Rebecca thought. The practicals had been given during the morning with the exams in the early afternoon, just after lunch. Monday had been Charms, which Rebecca had not messed up on, thankfully. Tuesday had brought Care of Magical Creatures. Wednesday had been Herbology, which had been very easy.

Now it was Thursday, and Rebecca was looking forward to the Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L. Peter was nervous the night before, but Rebecca had been studying with him, and told him not to fret. Remus was still ignoring her for the most part, but had slowly been coming around. She chose to sit next to Lily during the exam, with Severus and the others not too far from her.

The exam was long, but not too difficult. Peter chewed his nails throughout the whole thing. Rebecca felt very confident, as did James, who turned about in his seat after Flitwick announced five more minutes' time and grinned at Sirius. She rolled her eyes at them. After another long five minutes, Flitwick called for their attention once again.

"Quills down, please!" he squeaked. "That means you too, Stebbins! Please remain seated while I collect your parchment! _Accio_!"

More than a hundred rolls of parchment zoomed into the air and into Professor Flitwick's outstretched arms, knocking him backward off his feet. Rebecca heard several students laugh. She got up and helped another student lift the tiny professor by his elbows to put him on his feet again.

"Thank you… thank you," he panted. "Very well, everybody, you're free to go!"

Rebecca turned around to see all of her friends jump to their feet and start for the door. She spotted Severus walking towards the doors to the entrance hall, hunched over the examination questions.

She managed to catch up with the Marauders just as Sirius smiled at Remus.

"Did you like question ten, Moony?" he asked as they emerged into the entrance hall.

"Loved it," Remus said briskly. "'Give five signs that identify the werewolf.' Excellent question."

"D'you think you managed to get all the signs?" said James in tones of mock concern.

"Think I did," said Remus seriously. By this time, they were all waiting at the door to get out into the sunlight. "One: He's sitting in my chair. Two: He's wearing my clothes. Three: His name's Remus Lupin…"

Rebecca laughed, along with the others, except for Peter, who was oddly quiet.

"I got the snout shape, the pupils of the eyes, and the tufted tail," Peter said anxiously, "but I couldn't think what else—"

"How thick are you, Wormtail?" said James impatiently. "You run round with a werewolf once a month—"

Rebecca shot James a look at Remus implored, "Keep your voice down!"

"Well, I thought that paper was a piece of cake," Sirius said. "I'll be surprised if I don't get Outstanding on it at least."

"Me too," said James. He put his hand in his pocket and took out a struggling Golden Snitch.

"Where'd you get that?" Rebecca asked, her brows furrowed.

"Nicked it," James replied casually. He started playing with the Snitch, allowing it to fly as much as a foot away and seizing it again; his reflexes were excellent. Rebecca noticed Peter practically drooling in awe.

They all stopped in the shade of a beech tree of the edge of the lake and threw themselves down on the grass. Remus let Rebecca sit next to him, which made her feel a bit better. She gave him a questioning smile, and he returned it with a nod.

Remus then pulled out a book and began reading. Rebecca did the same, having nothing else to do. Sirius stared around at the students milling over the grass, looking rather haughty and bored. James was still playing with the Snitch, letting it zoom farther and farther away. Peter watched him, his mouth open. Every time James made a particularly difficult catch, Peter gasped and applauded. After five minutes of this, Rebecca glared up at James, trying to silently tell him to tell Peter to control himself. From the look on his face, she could tell James was enjoying the attention. She shook her head and went back to her book.

"Put that away, will you?" said Sirius finally, as James made a fine catch and Peter let out a cheer. "Before Wormtail wets himself from excitement."

Peter turned slightly pink but James grinned.

"If it bothers you," he said, stuffing the Snitch back in his pocket.

"I'm bored," said Sirius. "Wish it was full moon."

"You might," said Remus darkly from behind his book. "We've still got Transfiguration, if you're bored you could test me…. Here." He held out his book.

Sirius snorted. "I don't need to look at that rubbish, I know it all. Have Becca help you." He waved his hand at her. She shrugged and took the book from Remus, putting her own away; she scanned the page for something to ask him.

"This'll liven you up, Padfoot," said James quietly, trying to make sure Rebecca didn't hear. "Look who it is…."

Sirius's head turned. He had become very still, like a dog that has scented a rabbit.

"Excellent," he said softly. "_Snivellus_."

Rebecca noticed that Sirius and James had stood up, but she was questioning Remus about something. Peter remained sitting as well, but was looking up at James and Sirius. When Remus still hadn't answered her after a few moments, Rebecca looked up to see James and Sirius had moved away a bit.

"All right, Snivellus?" said James loudly.

Rebecca shut the book loudly and thrust it at Remus, who took it from her just before she stood up. James and Sirius were already to Severus.

She watched as Severus dropped his bag and plunged his hand inside his robes. Rebecca was running, now, trying to get to them to stop their imminent fight. Severus's wand was halfway into the air when James shouted, "_Expelliarmus_!"

Severus's wand flew twelve feet into the air and fell with a little thud in the grass behind him. Sirius let out a bark of laughter, and Rebecca was to them.

"_Impedimenta_!" Sirius said, just before Rebecca knocked his wand hand down. Severus was still knocked off his feet, halfway through a five toward his wand.

"Stop it," Rebecca hissed at Sirius. "You promised me."

"C'mon, Becca, let me and Prongs have a little fun," Sirius said, smiling.

Students all around had turned to watch. Some of them had gotten to their feet and were edging nearer to watch. Some looked apprehensive, others entertained.

"I said stop it," Rebecca repeated, her voice deadly.

"Becca, we're just going to talk to him."

Both James and he advanced upon Severus. Severus was panting on the ground.

"How'd the exam go, Snivelly?" said James.

"I was watching him, his nose was touching the parchment," said Sirius viciously. "There'll be great grease marks all over it, they won't be able to read a word."

Rebecca pulled out her own wand and was about to put it to Sirius's head when she saw Severus shake his head slightly, giving her a stern look. She shot him one back, but his look was meaningful: stay out of it.

With all of her strength, she took a step back, replacing her wand. She turned, her eyes closed tightly and her fists clenched inside her robes. Remus stared at her, puzzled. She turned to watch the scene when she got back to Remus and Peter.

Several people were laughing. Peter sniggered. Severus was trying to get up; he was struggling.

"You— wait," he panted, staring up at James with an expression of pure loathing. "You— wait…."

"Wait for what?" said Sirius coolly. "What're you going to do, Snivelly, wipe your nose on us?"

Severus let out a stream of mixed swearwords and hexes, but nothing happened; he still didn't have his wand.

"Wash out your mouth," said James coldly. "_Scourgify_!"

Pink soap bubbles streamed from Severus's mouth at once; the froth was covering his lips, making him gag, choking him—

"Leave him ALONE!"

James and Sirius looked around. James's free hand jumped to his hair.

"All right, Evans?" said James, and the tone of his voice was suddenly pleasant, deeper, more mature.

"Leave him alone," Lily repeated. She was looking at James with every sign of great dislike. "What's he done to you?"

"Well," said James, appearing to deliberate the point, "it's more of the fact that he _exists_, if you know what I mean…."

Rebecca, Remus, and Lily were the only ones who didn't laugh.

"You think you're funny," Lily said coldly. "But you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him _alone_."

"I will if you go out with me, Evans," said James quickly. "Go on… go out with me, and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again."

Severus was beginning to inch toward his fallen wand, spitting out soapsuds.

"I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid," said Lily.

"Bad luck, Prongs," said Sirius briskly, turning back to Severus. "OY!"

Severus had directed his wand straight at James; there was a flash of light and a gash appeared on the side of James's face, spattering his robes with blood. Rebecca smirked. James whirled about; a second flash of light later, and Severus was hanging upside down in the air, his robes falling over his head to reveal skinny, pallid legs and a pair of graying underpants. Rebecca gasped and put a hand to her mouth.

Many people in the small crowd were cheering. James, Sirius, and Peter were cheering.

Lily, whose furious expression had twitched for an instant as though she was going to smile, said, "Let him down!"

"Certainly," said James and her jerked his wand upward. Severus fell into a crumpled heap on the ground. Disentangling himself from his robes, he got quickly to his feet, wand up, but Sirius said, "_Locomotor mortis_!" and Severus keeled over once again, as rigid as a board.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Lily shouted. She had her own wand out now. James and Sirius eyed it warily.

"Ah, Evans, don't make me he you," said James earnestly.

"Take the curse off him, then!"

James sighed deeply, then turned to Severus and muttered the countercurse.

"There you go," he said as Severus struggled to his feet again, "you're lucky Evans was here, Snivellus—"

"I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!"

Rebecca stared at Severus, unbelieving of what he actually said. She saw Lily's face turn to stone; she blinked slowly.

"Fine," Lily said coolly. "I won't bother you in the future. And I'd wash your pants if I were you, _Snivellus_."

"Apologize to Evans!" James roared at Severus, his wand pointed threateningly at him.

"I don't want _you_ to make him apologize," Lily shouted, rounding on James. "You're as bad as he is…."

"What?" yelped James. "I'd NEVER call you a— you-know-what!"

"Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you've just got off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking down corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you just because you can— I'm surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK."

She turned on her heel and hurried away.

"Evans!" James shouted after her. "Hey, EVANS!"

But she didn't look back. Rebecca nodded, agreeing with Lily's reactions to everything.

"What is it with her?" said James, trying and failing to look as though this was a throwaway question of no real importance to him.

"Reading between the lines, I'd say she thinks you're a bit conceited, mate," said Sirius.

"Right," said James, looking furious not, "right—"

There was another flash of light, and Severus was once again hanging upside down in the air.

"Who wants to see me take off Snivelly's pants?"

Rebecca couldn't watch anymore. She strode off into the castle, to wait in the entrance hall for the Marauders to come inside.

* * *

After what seemed an eternity, the Marauders entered, all of them laughing except Remus, who kept staring determinedly at his Transfiguration book. Rebecca watched them, her arms crossed over her chest, glaring.

"Oy, Becca," James said, smirking, "what's with that look on your face?"

Rebecca remained quiet, still staring at them, at James and Sirius.

"You can't be angry," Sirius said.

"Can't be angry?" Rebecca finally asked incredulously. She stopped herself, taking in a deep breath. "I don't know who you two are anymore."

James furrowed his brow. "What're you playing at, Becca?"

"I can't be friends with you if this is how you go about treating people when I'm not around," she said sternly, standing up straight and invading the boys' personal space. "I can't be your friend if this is how you're going to treat _my _friends."

James tried to interrupt, but Rebecca snapped at him.

"Do _not_ interrupt me, Prongs," she told him evenly. "Severus is my friend whether you lot want to admit it or not. He's done so much for me, and all you two've done is torture him. I can't do this." She looked at Remus. "And you're a Prefect, Remy. You didn't do a thing." She looked at Peter. "And all you did was laugh, just like the other idiots." Peter shrank a little at her words. She looked back at them as a group. "Until you learn to grow up, I don't see us hanging round one another for a while."

She paused, looking at the ones who had befriended her first before others would give her a chance, the ones who she had gone through so many ordeals with. She began to turn from them, and they stared at her, dumbfounded.

"And don't bother owling me over the holidays—I won't answer," she added, turning fully to the stairs that lead toward her common room.


	22. Hold Me Tight

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of these characters, except Rebecca. I don't plan on making money off this, either.

**Author's Note:** I love reviews- they make me happy. ^_^ Thanks to those who have reviewed and to those who will (hopefully) review.

* * *

Rebecca waited up for Severus in their dormitory. It was very late already, half past eleven, but she couldn't sleep, even with another O.W.L. the next day. She wondered where he could be, if he was all right, if he was trying to make up with Lily.

Rebecca found herself pacing, unable to help herself. Suddenly, the door flung open and slammed shut. She turned to see the pale face of Severus Snape, cold and withdrawn, staring blankly before him.

"Severus?" she asked quietly, reaching out a hand toward him. "Are you—?"

Before she could even finish the question, she knew it was a moot point to ask. His face said everything when he met her eyes. He couldn't keep her gaze for long. As though it were too much of an effort to stand, the sixteen year old boy dropped to his knees, his hands finding the rug that covered part of the cold, stone floor. His fingers grasped it, holding onto the threads so tight that Rebecca thought they might rip. She saw his shoulders begin to shudder, and she knelt next to him.

She took him by the shoulders and brought him close to her, and he allowed it, unable to contain himself any longer. Rebecca heard Severus sob for the first time, watched him bury his face in her shoulder, his hands now digging into her back, as if trying to pry comfort from her shoulder blades.

"She hates me," he hissed through his sobs, barely able to speak. "She won't forgive me." Two more sobs shook his body, and Rebecca held him tightly, afraid that if she let go he would stop speaking, stop opening up to her. "Who can blame her after…?"

He shook his head, unable to finish. He turned his face back to her shoulder, still holding on to her, like Rebecca was keeping him grounded.

"It'll be all right, Sev," she tried to soothe.

"No, it won't," he managed, shaking his head again. His voice was deeper, full of sorrow. She met his eyes, his head seemingly unable to leave her shoulder. "Lily will never forgive me. My best friend… the girl I…"

Rebecca brushed a few strands of hair from his face, nodding in understanding. "You're right," she said quietly, with a sigh. "It might not be okay."

She saw, from the corner of her eye, that Severus was beginning to lose it again. She realized that her should was going to be thoroughly soaked by the time that he was through, but she found she couldn't care much.

"It's all right, Sev, you cry," she whispered to him, bracing herself before his fingers dug into her back again. She placed a hand on his shoulder, another behind his head. "I'll still be here. You can cry."

She didn't know how long Severus Snape cried for, but it was a long while. His sobs were heartbreaking, but quieted down after many tense moments. Soon, he was trying to clear his throat, his nose. He brought out a handkerchief from his robes and blew his nose, hiding his face from Rebecca. He didn't move from her, though, her presence comforting. From right next to her ear, Rebecca heard him speak.

"I'm sorry," he told her, his voice still sounding very deep from his emotional breakdown. "I didn't mean to—"

"Shhh," she told him. "I understand. You don't have to worry."

They were silent for a few long moments.

"I told the Marauders I couldn't be their friend," Rebecca whispered to him.

His face turned toward hers in a quick movement, his eyes glancing at her own. The emotions she saw there were a mix of confusion and astonishment.

"I said I couldn't be around people who claimed they were my friends," she continued, looking to the stone floor, "but treated my other friends as… like they did you."

She waited, unsure of his reaction. He didn't move, so she decided it would be best if she kept babbling.

"You've always been a friend to me, Severus," she said, her voice still lowered. "Sometimes you've been more of a friend than they have to me. You've protected me, kept me safe, but you've also taught me a lot of important things: how to conquer my fears, how to be a better potion brewer… you've even helped my confidence. You've given me so much and asked for so little in return, I just didn't think it was fair to continue my friendship with people who couldn't—won't ever—see you in the same light."

Rebecca found herself wrapped in Severus's embrace very quickly. He was hugging her tightly, unwilling to loosen his grasp. She could hear in his voice when he spoke that he had begun to cry again.

"Thank you," he whispered.

He allowed her to pull away from him, but stared at her when her face passed his. Before she could react, Severus had leaned forward again. Rebecca blinked, and he stopped about an inch away from her face. For a split second, their eyes met, and she could see his ever-working mind trying to decide if he should continue.

For a split second, she didn't think he would do it.

But she watched as Severus Snape's hand came up to move the hair covering part of her face—more importantly, part of her lips—out of the way. This same hand carefully cradled the back of her head, bringing her the rest of that inch toward him. When their lips touched, Rebecca took in a tiny breath. In the dead silence of the room, she knew that he had heard it.

Her lips reacted minutely to his tiny pecks, tentative in their intention. Her body was not stiff, but she dared not come any closer to him, her mind racing about what exactly was happening. Severus gave her one final kiss on the lips, then pulled away, his hands moving to her shoulders. He kissed her on her forehead, then released her.

For once, he looked as though he was content. Rebecca found no other emotions hidden behind his eyes. She took her bottom lip between her teeth as she stared at him for another second.

"Right," she said softly. She broke his steady gaze, then began to rise. "Well, I'm glad you're back and are… all right. I need to go to bed—we have an exam tomorrow. Good night."

She retreated behind the wall that separated their beds, pulling the drapes to her entrance closed behind her. She leaned against the wall, now allowing herself to breath a bit heavily at what had just happened. She tried to do so quietly, and believed she succeeded, as Severus didn't call to her to see if she was okay.

"What the hell just happened?" she thought to herself.


	23. Something

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of these characters, except Rebecca. I don't plan on making money off this, either.

**Author's Note:** I love reviews- they make me happy. ^_^ Thanks to those who have reviewed and to those who will (hopefully) review.

* * *

Rebecca woke up the next morning determined to act as though nothing had happened between she and Severus. Before falling asleep the night before (and it had taken her a while), she decided that he had just been overly emotional because of Lily's rejection and couldn't control himself. Maybe she should talk to Lily about this, seeing as she knew him best. Then again, Lily probably wouldn't want to hear about Severus right now…

She cursed herself for not having more girl friends. Or friends in general, she thought.

When she pulled the curtain aside, she found Severus was just finishing up getting ready. He gave her a small smile, and she returned it.

"Ready for breakfast?" he asked.

Rebecca nodded, and they left. At breakfast, Rebecca was quiet, but she was not normally very talkative this early in the morning.

"Today is our Transfiguration exam," Severus stated, looking at her as she silently chewed her bacon. "Are you nervous?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

She swallowed. "A bit," she admitted.

"You'll do well," he said with a comforting smile.

"I don't know why I let Dumbledore convince me to register with the Ministry," Rebecca said in a whisper. "They just laughed at me."

She and the Marauders had agreed the few weeks before that it would be best, with Dumbledore knowing her about her Animagi form, that she alone register with the Ministry. She promised to keep their secrets. Even now, the thought of exposing them seemed heinous to her, despite the fact that she had nullified their friendship.

"They didn't laugh long, did they?" Severus asked, buttering a piece of toast.

"No…"

"Well, you're the youngest person to successfully complete the necessary requirements of becoming an Animagi," Severus explained. He took a bite of his toast, finishing it before he spoke again. "They were bound to be reluctant to believe." He smirked. "The proctor for the practical this morning will know of you. When he sees your Animagi form, he can't give you anything less than Outstanding."

Rebecca blushed a bit, trying to hide behind her curtain of red hair. "Thanks, Sev."

* * *

Severus had been right. The proctor had recognized her name immediately.

"You're the Animagi?" he asked, his tone a bit incredulous.

She nodded. "Yes, sir," she replied meekly.

He blinked at her. "Very well, then," he said after a moment. "Show me."

Rebecca sighed, closing her eyes to concentrate. The room was full, and it was quite loud with students muttering their incantations, trying their best to impress the proctors that were watching them so carefully. The air was tense, and Rebecca could feel everyone's anxiety. She didn't want to change for this man, but Severus's words rang in her mind.

When she looked back at the man, she could feel herself beginning to transform. After only a second, she was the white wolf that was her Animagus form. The proctor, along with the ones that were closest to her, stared at her in disbelief. Rebecca swung her wolf head about, looking at the Marauders, who were watching her as well, to Lily… and finally at Severus, who was grinning at her proudly. She wagged her tail at him.

"Most impressive," the proctor managed to say, his voice sounding a little faint. "I believe I've seen enough, Miss Felan. This is far above what you should be capable of."

Rebecca nodded, then changed back. Her robes weren't ruffled in the least, and she gave the proctor a kind smile.

* * *

The test had been easy. After the practical that morning, Rebecca felt that she could not answer any question incorrectly. After the test, she and Severus sat in their dormitory, awaiting dinner, and discussed the test. They decided that it had been far too easy, and both believed that they had passed it.

"Crushed it, really," Severus said, rolling his eyes.

Rebecca chuckled.

Severus was quiet, and Rebecca looked to him, wondering what the matter was. He had a worried expression on his face, and he was looking at her very intensely.

"I… want to apologize for my behavior last night, Rebecca," he said. "I was very upset." He paused, unable to hold her gaze any longer. "No one has ever chosen me over another."

Rebecca furrowed her brows. "No one?"

Severus shook his head slowly, staring at the floor. "You and Lily have been my only true friends," he said. "The other Slytherins merely fear what I might do to them, knowing my expertise in the Dark Arts, and my friendship with Malfoy. They do not seek me out unless it is help with some inane subject, Potions mostly. No one has showed me that they… care."

He looked up at her from behind his own curtain of hair.

Rebecca was very well aware of their close proximity to one another, here on the floor of their dormitory. They had taken to conversing and discussing homework on the floor, as it was much easier than trying to lean over someone's desk, and less awkward than sharing someone's bed.

At this time, she chose to let the moment pass. She did not want to feel awkward with the only friend she had.

"It's all right, Sev," she said, smiling easily at him. "I'm just glad I could help you."

He nodded. "I appreciate it… truly."

He played with a loose thread in the floor rug. Rebecca really wished she could tell what he was thinking.

"We should probably get to dinner," she said after a few silent minutes of watching him.

He glanced up, a smile, disappointed, upon his face. "Yes, perhaps we should."


	24. Every Little Thing

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of these characters, except Rebecca. I don't plan on making money off this, either.

**Author's Note:** I love reviews- they make me happy. ^_^ Thanks to those who have reviewed and to those who will (hopefully) review.

* * *

It was the first time Rebecca had seen Severus since they had bid one another goodbye at the train station. They had hugged, and when they parted, she did not notice the sad look that he had given her as she had walked off the platform.

Rebecca had led a very boring life that summer. She was not allowed to communicate with anyone during her stay at her muggle parents' home. They hated that she was magical, but at least her father had stopped calling her those wretched names. Her brother, older than her by four years, was home from the university he attended, and pestered her to no end. He knew she couldn't use magic freely, but she threatened him now: he would be sorry when she could.

"It'll be next summer," she told him, her voice low and her eyes piercing into him. "I'll be of age in my world—I can do whatever I please, then."

"You're lying," Nicholas told her.

She could see the fear in his eyes.

Rebecca forgot everything about her brother, her parents, when she saw Severus smiling at her from across the platform. She returned it, walking quickly in his direction. She hugged him before he could respond, and he chuckled.

"Your summer…?" he asked.

"Dreadful," she responded, her head buried in his shoulder. "Yours?"

"Probably no better," Severus said, hands on her waist to push her gently away. "My father…"

Her eyes were immediately concerned. "Sev, what happened?"

He looked about to answer her when his mouth shut, forming a very thin line. His eyes, looking relieved before, turned darker and crueler in a moment. Rebecca followed his gaze, and saw the Marauders standing feet behind them. She felt Severus's hands fall from their grasp at her waist.

Remus had been staring at them. His eyes followed those hands until they reached Severus's sides. Then, they shot the Slytherin boy a look before turning to Rebecca. She saw the hurt in them. Her first instinct was to rush to him and comfort him, but then she remembered that day last year, when he had done nothing. She steeled herself, meeting his stare. He finally dropped his eyes and turned them to the ground.

Sirius and James were glaring at Severus. Rebecca stepped in front of him, obscuring their view of him. Their glares both immediately went soft. She glared at them, and they looked hurt. Peter cowered behind the other three, and it was then Rebecca realized how fitting his Animagi form was for him.

"Rat," she thought at Peter, poking his head out between the others' shoulders. He caught her stare, his eyes widened, and he shrunk back behind his protectors.

After what seemed forever, Rebecca finally turned back to Severus, taking his hand in hers and tugging on it lightly. He followed her. Together, they got their trunks and loaded them onto the train, neither one speaking. She felt his gaze upon her intensify, but she pretended not to notice.

* * *

Once they were safely in a compartment of their own, Rebecca turned back to him and sighed.

"What about your father, Sev?"

He shrugged. "Just being drunk and belligerent as usual," he said casually.

She stared at him. He gave in.

"He tried to hit her again," he admitted. "She's been getting sick recently, but she kept insisting that she would get better. I was… afraid to leave her this year."

"You don't think your father will try anything while you're gone, do you?"

He paused, looking out the window and onto the platform. "I don't know. I can only hope not." He looked back to her. "I told my mother to write daily, to tell me everything if she could. If she couldn't, I told her to write in code. She told me I was being silly."

There was a long pause.

"It'll be all right, Sev."

"Will it, Becky?" he asked, looking to her.

She realized then how much older than everyone else their age he looked. His skin was paler than usual, his eyes sunken with dark circles underneath them, and his stance was not straight as it usually was; he slouched in his seat.

Rebecca nodded slowly. "It will."

He stared at her for only a moment more before glancing out the window again. She could feel the train lurch forward and begin its journey to Hogwarts, as it had so many times before and probably would for a long time after they were done with school.

"Did you get your scores back?" she asked after ten minutes of complete silence. She had been watching the country-side, but had wanted to rid the air of its uncomfortable feeling. She wanted him in a better mood.

"I did," Severus said, looking at her mischievously.

"And?"

"All Outstanding, except for Divinations, History of Magic, Care of Magical Creatures, and Muggle Studies," he said with a smirk. "I got an Acceptable in those, because, frankly, I didn't care."

Rebecca laughed.

"And what about you, Becky?"

"Well, I didn't taken Muggle Studies," she said teasingly.

Severus scoffed. "For obvious reasons," he said. "Come on, woman, tell me!"

Rebecca chuckled. "I got Outstandings in everything, except Charms, Study of Ancient Runes, Arithmacy, and Divinations." She paused. "The latter three were Acceptable, and Charms was Exceeds Expectations." She looked at him, smug.

He grinned. "I knew you could do it!" he told her, obviously very excited.

"Well, you did help," she admitted. "I got quite tired of you teasing me about being so terrible at Charms, something 'every witch and wizard could do.'" She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Very mature," he told her, rolling his eyes.

The mood lightened, Rebecca was determined to keep it that way. By the time that they arrived at the castle, she hoped she had helped him to forget his worries for at least a few moments that day.


	25. I Wanna Be Your Man

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of these characters, except Rebecca. I don't plan on making money off this, either.

**Author's Note:** I love reviews- they make me happy. ^_^ Thanks to those who have reviewed and to those who will (hopefully) review.

* * *

Their friendship was an easy one, Rebecca thought as the weeks of their sixth year passed. Classes were not so much difficult, and she and Severus were in all of the same ones. The Marauders were in a few of them, but not every one.

* * *

What Rebecca did not know were the lingering looks that he would give her when he saw she was too concentrated on a textbook, or on brewing a Potion. Those were the moments, he decided, that he enjoyed her the most. If she ever caught him looking, he, playing the good actor, was always able to make it seem natural. He was sure she thought nothing of it. He wondered himself why he kissed her at the end of term last year, even though his explanation the next day should have been sufficient enough for him; it had been for Rebecca.

Perhaps his fondness for Lily had transferred to Rebecca? He couldn't deny that he enjoyed her company, her intellect and her wit. She nearly matched him in everything, something Lily had been able to do. However, Rebecca did so differently, and she was becoming quite a different person from the scared girl he remembered even at the beginning of last year. He also couldn't help but notice how much time he spent admiring her, like now, when they were supposed to be doing homework.

He shook himself from his reverie, and he was angry at himself for letting her notice.

* * *

Rebecca gave Severus a strange look, then laughed as she realized what was wrong.

"Drifting off into space, were you?" she asked.

"It would appear so," he responded curtly.

"I know this is a boring subject, but we have a test tomorrow, and I want to make sure we're both prepared," she told him.

"You worry too much about tests," he told her, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You always pass them anyway, we both do."

She furrowed her brows at him, hoisting herself up into a sitting position on the floor so she could meet his eye level.

"Well, I'm sorry for caring, then," she said a bit defensively. She reached over to pick up her book. "I guess I'll go study on my own, if you already know everything."

Severus was quick to react. He reached for her, holding her book in place. His fingers brushed hers, and the places where they did so tingled a bit from the contact.

"Stop," he said, pleading.

Severus Snape did not plead. Rebecca looked up at him, curious. He sighed.

"This isn't about History of Magic," he said plainly.

"What _is_ this about, Severus?"

* * *

She was growing impatient, he could sense it. He would just have to tell her. He licked his lips, nervous. She noticed; he knew she did. She noticed everything about him, too much. She noticed when he came back late from his meetings with the other Slytherins, the ones who were destined to be Death Eaters. The time was drawing nearer, and their meetings were becoming more frequent, longer. She always looked worried when he returned, but mentioned nothing of them and always changed the subject to something light-hearted.

"Well?" she asked.

They were still in the same positions: him holding her book to the floor, she still reaching for it. Severus let his hand up, and she leaned back as well, watching him closely.

"This is about the kiss I gave you," he said, "last term, after… that day."

"Oh."

He watched her slouch, not expecting the answer he had given her. She wouldn't look at him.

Was he doing the right thing? It was too late now, and he couldn't wait any longer, or she would question his pause.

"Rebecca—"

He couldn't say it.

"Becky—"

That helped a little bit. He liked her name. He liked _her_. Now he just needed to say it.

"Becky, I'm very fond of our friendship," he said, trying a different approach. "As I told you, you're nothing like anyone else I've known. You've…" He stopped, not sure where that next sentence was going. Perhaps he should try again.

"Sev, what're you getting at?" she asked, biting her lower lip again. Merlin, she needed to stop doing that! It was not helping his thought process.

"Stop biting your lip," he told her quickly. He couldn't believe he said that out loud.

She looked at him for a moment as if horrified. She released her bottom lip and stared at him.

"Sorry," he muttered, looking harshly at the ground. He wished he could beat his head against the wall for being such a dunderhead.

"What I'm getting at," he said, "is that… though I enjoy being your friend, I find myself… in a troubled situation."

"Oh."

He looked up, and she seemed distraught. Did she think he was ending their friendship?

"Whatever it is you're thinking, you must stop it right now, Becky," he said, moving closer to her. He took her hands in his and pulled her gently to him.

She nearly fell with the sudden movement, but he caught her quite easily. She was even with his chest, and he could hear her breathing picking up, feel her heartbeat through her fingertips. He found that he had stopped breathing for a moment.

"I'm troubled because I'm attracted to you," he said finally, looking into her brilliant green eyes, ones that didn't even remind him of Lily any longer. "I kissed you because you had done the—the nicest thing anyone had ever done for me, and because I am attracted to you." He took in a breath. "I would like to kiss you again, Becky, and I don't think I can stop myself."

He leaned forward, her tiny hands still in his own, and placed his lips over hers, hoping that when this was over, he would still have her.

* * *

Rebecca was very unsure of what Severus was playing at, and grew more and more fearful with each passing second that he either spoke or did not. Did he not want to play the part anymore? Could he not keep up to rouse? Did he want her to leave? Those thoughts hurt, but he quickly silenced them.

"Whatever it is you're thinking, you must stop it right now, Becky."

He had kept calling her Becky; it seemed to keep him talking. He was holding her, and she had almost fallen, but he had caught her. That's how it always seemed to be: him helping her. He was speaking, was looking at her as if she were very important.

"I'm troubled because I'm attracted to you."

Those words rang through her head. He continued.

"I kissed you because you had done the—the nicest thing anyone had ever done for me, and because I am attracted to you."

Rebecca was unable to break their eye contact or their physical contact. She couldn't move. It was as though he had her spell-bound, but it was nothing like he had ever attempted before. There was nothing to suggest he was trying to infiltrate her mind.

"I would like to kiss you again, Becky, and I don't think I can stop myself."

What?

His lips were upon hers, and it was just like the last time he had kissed her unexpectedly. This time, she did not take in a breath, but tried to keep calm about what was happening. Severus was kissing her, but did she want to respond?

Yes, she did.

She found it quite easy to close the space between them. She felt him sigh, his body no longer rigid. She hadn't known he was so tense.

Rebecca wrapped her arms around his neck, and his hands found her waist. His kisses were little pecks, but she didn't care. He stopped after only a little while, and she smiled at him.

He chuckled nervously. "I… was afraid you wouldn't respond," he whispered, his voice coming from deep within his throat.

"Yes, well…" She blushed a bit. When had she started liking him? The moment he had rescued her, though she hadn't been Lily. When he had begun to show his true self to her after she had taken over half of his room. After he had shown his vulnerability by crying on his shoulder, by trusting her enough with his secrets. The moment he had first kissed her…

"You've been slowly making me fall for you, Sev," she said after a moment of collecting her thoughts. "I just didn't want to think I was."

He paused, nodding in affirmation. "I know exactly what you mean."

She put her head on his shoulder, and he held her close to him. She hugged him tightly, closing her eyes. She felt no tension being in his arms, no anxiety. She wanted to kiss him more.

She put her lips to the soft skin of his neck, delighted when he shivered. She giggled. He cleared his throat.

"You'll… have to assist me," he told her. His voice was gruff, but quiet.

"What do you mean?"

She looked up at him. He looked embarrassed.

"I'm—?" she said, after the realization hit her.

He nodded.

"Oh."

She smiled at him. He looked away, ashamed.

Her smile turned to a grin as she forced him to look at her again. "You helped me in Charms, I can certainly help you with this," she told him firmly.

She stood, slipping her hands into his again. She tugged gently, and he followed her. She looked at him over her shoulder, and he seemed to know immediately where they were going.

* * *

She was leading him to her side of the room, and she did not seem to care that he did not know how to kiss her properly. In fact, she seemed… _happy_ about it. He thought that this was peculiar, but perhaps she was just happy that she could tutor him for once.

He smirked at comparing something this intimate with tutoring.

She sat down on her bed, and that is when he grew nervous. What was going to happen? Could he keep himself in check?

"Sit down, Sev," she said, giggling. She pulled him to her.

He landed in a rather awkward position on the bed, one of his knees touching the mattress, his other leg still stuck out behind him. He was very close to her face. She smiled, leaning into his ear.

"It's easy," she told him. Her breath sent a chill up his spine, and he shivered. He knew she noticed, but he didn't care; he wanted her to see the effect she had on him. "Just follow my lead."

"All right," he whispered back.

Rebecca pulled away from him, then she pointed to the head of the bed, where her pillows lay. He understand what she wanted him to do almost instantly. He sat on the bed, then scooted backward until his back hit the pillows. He leaned his head back to rest against the headboard, and he turned his attentions back to her.

She was approaching him, that same smile upon her face. He loved how it lit up her features. He loved that she was reacting so positively, that she did not shy away from him again when he kissed her this time. He was definitely happy that she had been his first kiss.

Now Rebecca was mere inches away from his lips. Severus found himself unable to maintain his thoughts with her so close to him. When he blinked, she was kissing him. It was a slow, easy pace, something simple for him to follow. And follow he did, more than willingly.

She had her legs folded on either side of his, so she was straddling his lap. This made kissing much easier, and she was so light he could barely feel her weight. Rebecca placed a hand on the back of his neck, sending a tingling sensation down his back and making him groan a little… but just a little.

He felt her smile against his lips, so she was no longer kissing him, but he recaptured them. He took her hips into his hands, drawing her closer, then he slipped them around her back, feeling the fabric that separated her skin from his. He shivered at the thought of actually touching her skin.

All the while, his kisses were growing more frequent, and he was having a hard time focusing on both his lips and how close she was to him. Rebecca was pressed against his chest, against his lap, and he loved every second.

* * *

Rebecca managed to pull away from his lips for a second to catch her breath. She liked that Severus was trying to take the lead in the kissing, wanted her so close, but she wanted to be in charge.

He looked up at her, his black eyes full of want. She leaned toward him again, her lips brushing his as she said, "Let me show you how to _really_ kiss."

He let out a shuddering breath before their lips met again. She started off slowly as her hand traced down his side. Before long, she placed her tongue upon his lips, seeking entrance to his mouth. Severus understood, and with a slight moan, he parted his lips a tiny bit. Rebecca took her chance and slipped her tongue into his mouth, looking for his own. She touched it, urging him to kiss her back.

His hands were very still on her back and hers were firmly placed— one on his side and the other on his neck—when he began to move his tongue against hers. Rebecca sighed at the feeling, but continued slowly. She could tell he was reacting to her little sighs, because she knew he enjoyed his little moans. His voice, so deep, reflected in his moans of pleasure, no matter how small they were. Rebecca had always loved his voice, and now had a new appreciation for it.

* * *

Severus was beginning to quicken the pace of their snogging. He was a fast learner, and Merlin did he want her to not stop kissing him.

"Becky," he groaned when their lips parted for a second.

He leaned forward again, but sought her neck. He had reacted well to a kiss from her on his neck, so why shouldn't she? His lips found the tender skin where her shoulder and neck met, and that is where he planted the first of his many kisses.

She shivered, going mostly limp in his arms. He paused, grinning. He tried again, kissing more this time, using his tongue a bit. Her fingers tugged at the fabric of his shirt. He nipped at her skin. She moaned. That was all he needed.

Taking her in his arms, Severus carefully flipped Rebecca onto her back, placing himself over her. Her did not lie on top of her, but instead supported himself on his forearms and knees; he did not want her to panic, not when he was really starting to enjoy himself.

Her hands ran along his back now. She seemed not phased by her new position. Her fingers were touching the bare skin of his back, and he hissed at the contact.

Severus turned his attention to her neck again, spurred by her touching. He nipped at her skin, then laved the place with his tongue before placing his whole mouth over the particular spot. He began to suck, to nip, to tongue, experimenting. She moaned a bit underneath him, at first. After a few moments of this, she was beginning to writhe underneath him. Severus moaned; her reaction was making him ache with want, but he swore he would not push her no matter how much he wished his pants were not restricting him.

"Sev…"

It nearly broke him, so he forced himself to stop. He lay down next to her on the bed, trying to steady his breathing.

* * *

Rebecca couldn't believe these wonderful sensations. Remus had never discovered the soft spot on her neck—he had been far too timid to try. Kissing Severus felt so much different, so much better. She did not feel anxious, even with him over her. She felt happy.

When he stopped suddenly, lying next to her, her body was at a sudden loss as to what to do. She looked over to him, and she could see he was trying to steady his breathing.

"Are you all right, Severus?" she asked quietly.

He didn't answer for a moment. When he did, it was not what she was expecting.

"Yes, but if you keep being so remarkably sexy, things might not end well," he told her matter-of-factly, his eyes still closed.

She couldn't help but smiling. "Too much?" she asked.

"Not for me," he said, opening his eyes. He rolled onto his side to face her. "I could never get enough of you, Becky, especially now. I just… don't wish to push you."

She nodded. "I appreciate that," she said, thankful for his consideration. "But I know you wouldn't hurt me." She moved closer to him and kissed him chastely. "If you want we can stop, but it doesn't matter to me."

Severus took in a deep breath. "I think we should stop for now, Becky," he told her quietly, stroking her hair. "I'm… a bit worked up."

She nodded understandingly, then moved even closer. He seemed curious as to what she was doing, but smiled when she snuggled close to him. She had her eyes shut as he placed his arm protectively over her.

"You should sleep here tonight," she told him sleepily.

* * *

He was honestly shocked that she would suggest it. He looked down at her, then at a magical clock all the rooms inside the school had. It was very late, and they should be getting to bed.

"All right, Becky," he told her, kissing the top of her head. "But you have to get ready for bed first."

She groaned, but stood and complied. He left her to retrieve his sleeping clothes, and so they could both get dressed in private. As he went to brush his teeth, he thought of how tonight had taken a turn he could never have imagined. She came into the bathroom just as he was finishing up. When he walked out into the room, he saw that there was no longer a wall separating their parts of the room. Their beds had also been transfigured together. A slow smile crept to his face.

* * *

"I hope you don't mind," Rebecca said as she came out of the bathroom.

He shook his head. "It just gives us more room," he said, smiling down at her.

"That's what I thought, too," she replied.

Rebecca tried to stifle a yawn, but was unsuccessful. Severus took her hand and led her to the bed, pulling back the covers for her.

"Thank you," she said, sliding underneath them.

Severus pulled the covers back over her, then quickly got into bed himself. He extinguished the light and turned back over to find Rebecca more than ready to snuggle him again. She heard him chuckle as he obliged happily.

"Good night, Sev," she whispered.

"Good night, Becky," he replied. "My Becky."

She grinned in the dark.


	26. We Can Work It Out

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of these characters, except Rebecca. I don't plan on making money off this, either.

**Author's Note:** I love reviews- they make me happy. ^_^ Thanks to those who have reviewed and to those who will (hopefully) review.

* * *

Rebecca awoke the next morning, the smell of Severus all around her. He still had a firm hand around her; his possessiveness she found amusing, and she smirked.

She turned about, slowly and carefully, to face him. He was very peaceful when he slept, and slept very soundly. She couldn't remember him having moved all night. Then again, that might have had something to do with the fact that she had slept so soundly.

Reaching forward, she removed a stray strand of hair from in front of his face. He moved underneath her touch, grumbling sleepily.

"Morning, sleepyhead."

He grumbled incoherently. Rebecca giggled.

"It's time to get up, Sev," she told him a little more firmly. "We have to eat breakfast, and then there's that test…"

"Would you stop worrying about the bloody test?" Severus said into his pillow.

Rebecca smiled. "No."

He sighed, finally opening his eyes. He gave her a glare, but it only made her laugh. His glare hadn't worked on her in quite a while, and she knew it bothered him somewhat.

* * *

"Before we go to breakfast, we do need to talk about what occurred last night."

Severus enjoyed waking up to her smile. She was very endearing, despite her coddling on occasion. Her concern for anything school-related always made him chuckle; he would have to show her how to not worry so much. However, it was time to get serious for a moment.

"Before we go to breakfast, we do need to talk about what occurred last night."

He propped himself up on his elbow, watching as her face grew concerned. He frowned.

"After the way I kissed you last night, I don't imagine why you would need to have those fears, Becky," he told her sternly.

"It's not that," she told him. He could see her honesty. His skills as a Legilimens was growing with his further practicing, but he could only read students' minds so far, the ones with the least amount of protection, who had no idea of the arts he was delving in nor any idea of how to protect themselves against them.

"I know what you're going to say," she continued. "We can't really look as though things have changed, can we?"

Severus thought about this for a moment. She was very observant, but he had become aware of that almost immediately. She knew how to assess situations, especially delicate ones such as these.

"I don't believe so," he said after a few quiet moments. "It might be better in the long run if— "

"I understand, Severus. You don't have to say anything."

* * *

She always knew there would be a part of him that she couldn't have, at least not now. There were so many things that she knew she didn't understand, but maybe if he would only explain them to her… She stopped that train of thought. That was for another time.

"I know the others will know," she continued.

He quirked an eyebrow at her statement. She sighed, explaining, "They know my mannerisms. Besides, they're more than likely to try and make amends with me some time soon. Remus will notice before the others; he's more observant than I am."

She watched as Severus' brow furrowed. "If that wolf _touches_ you—"

"Sev!" She grabbed his hand that he was using to emphasize his point. "None of them will touch me. They'll have to apologize to you before I accept their friendship again, and I'll tell them so." She dropped his hand. "Other than that, I don't see why you have anything to worry about." She leaned in and kissed him chastely on the lips. "Now, we must get ready for breakfast."

* * *

Over the next week, Rebecca noticed Remus watching her closely whenever they had a class together, were in the Great Hall together, or even passing by in the halls. She knew, out of all the Marauders, that he knew her the best; he always had. She could see the puzzlement behind his eyes as he studied her. She pretended not to notice.

When she and Severus returned to their room after a few days of Remus' careful watching, he slammed down his books and turned to her. She jumped at his sudden outburst.

"I am going to teach you how to act, like all Slytherins know how to," he informed her. "Lupin can read you like an open book, something I didn't think Gryffindors were capable of. He's not as dunderheaded as the rest, though I should've known in the first place. He's like you: always has his nose buried in a book."

She could see how angry he was, though he was really trying to contain it now. She walked calmly over to him and hugged him. His tension released slowly, and he took in a deep breath before he hugged her back. She rested her head on his shoulder, as he was quite a few inches taller than her.

"Does it bother you because I was with him?" she whispered.

He stiffened again, but did not reply.

"Sev," she said, looking into his eyes, "you can tell me. I won't be mad."

His facial features were stiff, like the rest of his body, his lips a thin line. "It bothers me somewhat."

Rebecca smirked, standing on her toes to kiss him. He jerked away, and she frowned. "What?"

Now he would not look at her. "You see the best in the worst kinds of men, Rebecca," he said quietly.

His arms were no longer around her. She stepped away from him, hands on her hips, her brows furrowed in her growing anger.

"You're not the worst kind of man, Severus Snape, and you know better than to say that!"

He hung his head.

"Fine," Rebecca spat. "Go to your meeting tonight with your _friends_. I'm sure that'll make you feel better."

She stalked across the room and scooped up her backpack, tossing it at the wall behind her desk. Turning, she glared at him.

"And for your information, I'm not interested in him anymore," she said, still angry. She slammed her bag open, taking out books and slamming them onto her desk. "If you haven't noticed, I've been rather keen on you." She began to search for her parchment, her back now to him. Her movements were less angry now, her voice on the shaky side. "And Remus Lupin can read anyone, regardless of their acting abilities." She sniffed, then put her hand under her nose, her robe acting as her tissue. She wanted to wait for him to leave before she either found her handkerchief or could charm her nose from running.

He was quiet, and she knew he was standing behind her, watching her.

She sniffed again, but didn't want him to see her cry. She held it in as best she could, but he was not moving. She wanted him to leave, so she scoffed and turned her head slightly to him.

"Go on, then," she said, rather weakly. "I'll just study Charms by myself."

It was only a moment more before she heard him exit the room that she allowed herself to cry a bit. It was only for a minute, and then she cleaned herself up with a spell. Sitting at her desk, she got out her Charms book and began to read, keeping her mind far from the one-sided fight.

* * *

Severus could not focus on the meeting that night. Avery, Crabbe, Goyle, Mulciber, Rosier, Regulus Black, Wilkes, and many others were there, listening to the seventh years who were talking of taking the Mark the day after graduation. He was sure it was all very exciting, but he couldn't help but think of her words: _If you haven't noticed, I've been rather keen on you._

She had said that she had been slowly, unconsciously, falling for him, but he had just taken that as a euphemism. Rebecca had been highly affronted at his discouraging her to continue their relationship. She was very cross. It was clear that she cared a lot, perhaps too much.

Severus had been much more careful with their physical relationship after that first night she had returned his kiss. He did not wish to press her, and he still wanted to give her time to change her mind. He did not want a physical attraction to keep her when she didn't want to stay. However, it was becoming increasingly clear to him that this was not what she was really after…

"Snape. Snape!"

He snapped back to attention, realizing that the seventh year, Pucey, was yelling at him. Pucey smirked, laughing to the rest of the would-be Death Eaters.

"What's the matter, Snape?" Pucey asked. "That mudblood of yours giving you trouble?"

"I'll have you know that she has not been giving me any sort of 'trouble,' as you say," Severus replied with a sneer.

"Ah, putting out, is she?" Zabini grinned while elbowing Urquhart, who laughed. "Being a good little mudblood?"

He put on that fake smile, the one that had the knowing look to it. "Quite."

The rest chuckled before turning back to the topic at hand.

Severus blanched on the inside. They could be so foul at times. He needed to keep Rebecca safe. He needed her to not be angry with him.


	27. You Really Got A Hold On Me

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of these characters, except Rebecca. I don't plan on making money off this, either.

**Author's Note:** I love reviews- they make me happy. ^_^ Thanks to those who have reviewed and to those who will (hopefully) review.

* * *

When Severus returned to their room, she was still up, intently focused on one of their textbooks. She didn't turn around when he entered, though he knew she had heard him.

He approached her quickly, put both hands upon the back of her seat, and turned her whole chair around to face him. He saw her quill slide across the whole of her piece of parchment, leaving a long, black streak all over her previous sentences.

"Severus, what is wrong with—?"

He looked at her sternly, and she stopped in mid-sentence, her quill still clutched in her left hand, slightly extended before her.

He stared into her eyes for a good, long while, contemplating what he was going to tell her. At a loss for words, and deciding that to act while she was still somewhat shocked would make things better in the end, he leaned forward and kissed her.

* * *

Rebecca was quite surprised when Severus turned her chair around, ruining the Transfiguration homework she had been working on. She would have to start that page over, lest McGonagall ask questions about her sloppy ink-work.

After staring at her for countless moments, and just before she was going to get her wits back about her, Severus began to kiss her, pushing the back of her chair into her desk, his hands on either side of her, bracing himself on the wooden furniture.

She nearly succumbed to him, but remembered that she was still angry at him. She put her right hand against his chest and pushed him away as she pulled back.

"What are you playing at?" she asked firmly. She noticed she was still holding her quill, which she found rather silly, so she dropped it to the floor. She could get it later.

"I wanted to apologize—"

She glared at him, crossing her arms over her chest. "Well you don't just start kissing a girl without apologizing."

He blushed. "I thought it might work."

Rebecca sighed at him, shaking her head and putting it in her hands.

* * *

Severus still held his position over her, and didn't want to relinquish it. At least here he had her full attention.

"Rebecca," he said. She looked back up at him, still looking quite huffy. "I apologize for my mood earlier. I suppose I was a bit…"

"A bit…?"

He looked away, unwilling to say it. He sighed, met her eyes, and said, "I was a bit jealous." His gaze fell away, but he noticed her smirk.

Well, now he really felt silly. He removed his hands from either side of her and stood, sweeping his hair out of his face all in one movement. He turned from her and crossed his arms, feeling it might be easier to continue here than mere centimeters from her face.

"I didn't like the attention he was paying to you. I thought if he were to catch on, it would end badly for us, for you, mostly. I don't want him hurting you." He paused and he heard her shift in her seat. "I didn't realize how fond of me you are, Rebecca. I was trying to give you time to back out, maybe thinking you'd realize I was not everything you wanted. Perhaps I wanted you to come to that conclusion. I'm not sure myself." He glared at the floor. "I'm not a nice man most of the time, Rebecca, everyone will tell you that. What I am doing is not nice, if you were to ask the average person."

Before he knew it she was standing in front of him, staring at him with caring eyes.

"I think you're nice," she said matter-of-factly. "It's nice that you would give me a chance to get away from you, but I don't want to. I want to know the Severus that you're hiding from everyone else in this school. I'm sure there are things— that there will be things that you do that… aren't pleasant, but I want to know the whole Severus Snape first, before any of those things happen. You've been there for me, and I haven't held back from you because of your kindness and your friendship. All I ask is you do the same for me."

He watched her eyes and her lips for the entire time she spoke. Her words were true, and he knew it. Could he open up to her the same as he had to Lily? Could he even love her the same way that he loved Lily? There was a chance. Did he want to take that chance again, only to slip up and have her turn away, just as Lily had? Rebecca would always forgive; she had an endless supply of forgiveness. She forgave him now, just as easily as she had forgiven her friends after the Shrieking Shack incident last year. Now, however, she did not forgive those same friends… for his sake. There was the possibility that she could be so much more than Lily ever could have been for him. Again, there was always that chance that she could be exactly like Lily.

He shook his head, tired of thinking now. He wanted to be happy for at least a while, he knew that for certain. And when he was around Rebecca, he was happy.

He smiled and, forgetting all of the negative possibilities, he chuckled before saying, "Now may I kiss you?"

She looked as though she were pondering for a moment before she carefully took a step toward him, closing the gap between them to almost nothing. It took him a moment to realize that he had stopped breathing. She stood on her toes, going past his lips and to his ear.

"You may," she whispered.

It sent shivers up his spine, and he saw her grin. Severus snatched her into his arms and kissed her, finally pouring himself into the kiss after a week of holding back.

* * *

He was aggressive in this kiss, and Rebecca was glad. She had wondered why he had stopped their snogging, and it was now all clear to her. He was concerned for her safety, once again, as well as wondering about her attraction for him. That was the Severus that she knew: always protecting.

She threw her arms around his neck and allowed him full access to her mouth. Suddenly, he picked her up surprisingly easily and moved her the few feet to the wall before setting her back on her feet. He pressed her up against the wall, and she leaned herself against it. This gave her the support she needed when he moved to kissing her neck.

Rebecca made small sounds of pleasure, not wanting to stir him up too quickly just to have him stop himself. She wanted this to continue at least for a little while longer. She ran her fingers through his hair, and that sent another shiver down his spine. Severus lifted his head to let out a tiny moan through his clenched teeth. Rebecca took this opportunity to explore his neck for herself.

* * *

He grasped at her waist, leaning heavily against her as her tongue and teeth licked and carefully scraped across his skin. His fingers on both hands clenched into her shirt, wrinkling the fabric. He wanted to touch her skin, wanted to feel it underneath his fingertips as she nipped at his neck.

His right hand tugged at her shirt, untucking it quickly. His left hand did the same with the other side. Soon, his hands that had been wrinkling the pristine fabric were now running up and down the sides of her waist. Her skin was smooth, flawless, beneath him. He allowed a fuller, louder moan to escape from between his lips. Her nips seemed to be encouraging him on. He became very aware of the close proximity of their hips, noticing that she could probably feel him growing more and more excited with each passing second.

He pulled his head to the side and looked to her, catching her lips back up in his own. They kissed for a while longer before he broke it off, breathing heavily.

"I think we should stop for a while," he whispered.

* * *

Rebecca wanted to protest, but took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"Perhaps we should."

She looked to her right, where her ruined Transfiguration homework sat, the black streak across it glaring at her. She sighed.

"I am sorry about that," Severus said, kissing her forehead before stepping back. He picked up her quill and handed it to her.

She shrugged. "I'll just have to copy it over. I was only half-way down the page, anyway."

Rebecca took her quill and gave Severus a tiny smile before sitting down in front of her homework again. She heard him do the same at his. She shifted in her seat, trying to keep her mind from replaying the scene that had just occurred over and over again. She was going to have to try and convince him that she was all right with going a little further than snogging, but he might not be so willing. He was very cautious around her in that respect. Maybe she would have a talk with him tomorrow night about it. It was late now, and she had a lot to re-copy.


	28. Please Please Me

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of these characters, except Rebecca. I don't plan on making money off this, either.

**Author's Note:** I love reviews- they make me happy. ^_^ Thanks to those who have reviewed and to those who will (hopefully) review.

* * *

Care of Magical Creatures was really quite an interesting class. Rebecca was glad that she had decided to take it, regardless that she had to share the class with Remus and Lily, who were giving her strange looks that day. They spoke quietly between themselves, and Rebecca tried to pretend like she didn't see them. She knew they were talking about her, and could see from the look in Remus' eye that he was going to speak to her after class.

Damn it.

At least she was the only Slytherin in the class. Well, of course it would have been better had Severus been here. It would be better for her, anyway, not for Lily and Remus.

The professor signaled that it was time for everyone to leave. Rebecca did so begrudgingly, spotting Remus coming for her out of the corner of her eye.

"Becca," he said, catching up to her.

She turned to look at him, but did not respond. This looked like it concerned Remus, but he pressed on.

"I was wondering if you had a moment so I could talk to you," he continued. "I have a free period right now."

Rebecca thought for a moment. She had a free period as well. Certainly this talk wouldn't take too long.

"All right," she said after a moment. "What did you need to talk about?"

She eyed him warily, feeling like she knew what was coming. The rest of the students had already left, far ahead of Remus and Rebecca. Only Lily was lagging behind, but Rebecca was certain she couldn't hear them.

Remus took in a breath before speaking. "I've been watching you recently-"

"I know," Rebecca interrupted. "You're very obvious."

She saw him blush.

"Anyway, I've seen a great deal of change in you recently, and was hoping that we'd—meaning Lily, the rest of the Marauders and myself—be able to see you a bit more soon."

Rebecca sighed. "Lily can come and talk to me if she wants, I have nothing against her," she said. "I've been staying away from her because I thought she wouldn't want to be around me, seeing as I hang around Severus so much."

"Oh."

"And I will not hang round you lot until you apologize for what you all did last year."

Remus looked like he was going to say something, stopped, and then turned to her, stepping in front of her so she could no longer walk forward. He placed his hands on her shoulders. Rebecca blinked at him, surprised at his actions.

"Are you dating Snape?"

His eyes held a wide range of emotions, from anger to pain and everything in between. The grip he had on her shoulders was firm, but no where near crushing. The look pleaded with her to deny it.

Her brows furrowed. "I won't dignify that question with an answer."

She tried to push his hands from her shoulders, but he held her firmly.

"Please," he said, lowering himself to her eye level.

She blinked at him a few more times, trying to ignore the aching feeling her friend's pain was causing her. She looked away from him.

"Yes," she said quietly. "But please, Remus, don't tell anyone."

He seemed very struck by her sudden honesty, stepping away from her. He looked past her and back towards the area they had just come from for class. He turned back to her, then, and threw up his hands into the air.

"I don't know what to say," he told her, his voice disappointed. "I thought…" He stopped, laughing for some reason. This took Rebecca aback. "I thought, silly me, that you were going to be there for me after we graduated Hogwarts."

"I said only if our feelings were still the same," Rebecca told him evenly. She had never seen Remus this angry before. She knew it was anger; Remus never got angry in the traditional way. He always tried to play it off as if whatever was causing him pain or hurt meant nothing to him.

"And you've chosen him over me?" he asked, a bit too sharply.

"When you put it like that, it sounds as though I meant to hurt you," Rebecca said indignantly.

"It feels like it, Becca!" Remus snapped. He immediately stopped, his features softening. "Rebecca, I'm sorry. I don't understand…"

"No, you don't," she said quietly, looking at him sadly. She clutched her bag tighter.

They stared at one another for a very long while. Suddenly, Remus shifted and started toward her. It looked like whatever anger he had had left him, so Rebecca knew she didn't need to reach for her wand. Remus opened his arms and enveloped her in a hug, burying his face in her hair. She stood stiffly in his arms, confused.

"I'm sorry," he said again. "I'm sorry I don't understand." He paused, taking in a breath. "I'm sorry for not doing anything to help last term. You were right—I was the Prefect, and I did nothing."

Rebecca hugged him back now, smiling a little. At least she had her friend back. Remus shifted so that his mouth was next to her ear before he pulled out of their hug.

"Just know, Becca, please, that I will be waiting for you if Severus Snape hurts you," he whispered.

Rebecca nodded as he pulled the rest of the way from her. He sighed, looking her over.

"Will you come study with Lily and me tonight?" he asked.

She smiled tentatively. "Sure."

He gave her a smile back, reassuring. "Well, then, see you after dinner." He nodded as he began up the path and toward Lily. Rebecca assumed he would tell her everything that transpired between the two of them, but she knew that her secrets were safe with the two of them.

* * *

Severus hadn't seemed phased that her friendship with Remus had been renewed. He was very quiet when she told him that she was studying with them that night after dinner, but he made no move to say he would prefer her not to go. So, Rebecca left him after dinner with a kiss on the lips.

She returned around eight to find him pacing. He met her gaze when she walked in. When she moved closer to him, he reached out and grabbed her up into a hug.

"Severus, are you all right?" she asked, stroking his hair. He was obviously shaken up by something.

He didn't answer her for a while, a sign that he was collecting his thoughts in a manner that he could present to her.

"It felt strange, knowing you'd be with them," he said quietly, his voice low and gentle. "Well, strange to think that you'd be with her, mostly. I know I have nothing to be jealous of where Lupin is concerned."

Rebecca remained quiet, unsure of what to say. Severus sighed heavily.

"Do you still love Lily?" she asked.

* * *

He thought about this carefully. He was uncertain of this answer himself.

"Somewhat, I think."

She looked at him.

"It's… complicated," he explained.

"I see."

She looked dejected.

"Please do not think that I no longer desire you because of a love that will never be reciprocated," he said, taking her chin in his hand and pulling her gently to look at him. "I am with _you_, Rebecca."

"I know," she said, turning to kiss the palm of his hand. It sent shivers up his arm. He did his best to ignore the effect her proximity was having on his mood. "It just feels… weird to hear you say it."

He nodded. "Know that my love for Lily will not go away," he told her, stroking the side of her face. "But that I will not let it get in the way of our relationship, no matter where this takes us." He leaned in and kissed her forehead. "All right?"

* * *

Rebecca nodded. She knew Lily was no threat to their relationship just as Severus knew Remus wasn't. Lily hadn't mentioned Severus the whole time they were studying, and they had gotten off topic a lot in the hour and a half they spent together. It was as if the Slytherin hadn't ever existed, and Rebecca didn't mix with him.

Remus had spent the whole time trying to act normal, but she saw him staring at her for longer than necessary at times. This was going to get awkward very quickly if he did not learn to control himself better. She sighed.

"Everything all right?" Severus asked.

"Hmm? Oh, yes, just thinking as usual," she said, smiling.

He rolled his eyes. Before he could open his mouth, Rebecca interrupted him.

"No, I'm not telling the whole truth," she said. "Damn you and your… whatever it is you call it." She glared at him, but only for a second.

"I told you, it's called Legilimency."

Rebecca waved a hand at him. "I was thinking that Remus is still attracted to me, and it will get awkward," she said. "It makes me feel bad, but only slightly."

Severus looked contemplative for a moment. "He knows of our relationship," he stated.

"He told me—" She stopped herself, and now realized that she'd have to tell him. She yelled obscenities at herself inside her mind.

Severus cocked an eyebrow at her. "He told you what, my Becky?"

"He told me he'd be there for me when you hurt me," she muttered.

He was silent. "And… how did you respond?"

"I didn't," she said. "It was a silly thing for him to suggest."

She kept her face impassive as he looked at her. He looked rather affronted.

"Yes, yes it was," he agreed finally, though without much conviction.

* * *

He couldn't believe Lupin would suggest such a thing. That wolf had come closer to hurting Rebecca than he ever would. He had half a mind to tell Rebecca that, but didn't wish to upset her. He decided to change the subject.

"Did you wish to work on your Occlumency lessons tonight?"

"No, Sev, I'm a bit tired tonight," she told him, relaxing a bit.

He nodded, taking her by the hand and leading her to the chair in front of the desk.

"Sev, what are you doing?"

He smiled at her, his thoughts focused on making her feel better. She looked very tired, and he was certain his sour mood wasn't helping things. As he had said, there was no reason to be jealous of Lupin. He was not whom Rebecca wanted, was not where her affections lay.

He took off her cloak and dropped it to the floor. He then motioned for her to sit in the chair. She did, giving him an odd look.

"Take off your tie, please," Severus purred into her ear. "And untuck your shirt as well, Becky."

* * *

Rebecca did as she was asked, if for no other reason than Severus' voice was soothing the headache that had been coming on. She loved the way his voice sounded.

"What are you planning?" she asked, looking over her shoulder at him as she undid her tie.

"You'll find out," he told her.

She turned around and untucked her shirt, then leaned against the back of the chair. Severus toyed with her hair for a little while, stroking it, before finally placing it over her shoulders.

"Lean forward."

She did. Then, his fingers were on her shoulders, massaging her tense muscles. She let out a sigh of relief. After a few minutes, though his fingers felt really nice, Rebecca got a better idea.

"Why don't I take off my shirt? You could reach my shoulders easier."

* * *

Rebecca was practically melting under his touch, and Severus couldn't help but smile. Then, at her suggestion, he stopped his movement.

"If you think it a good idea," he said finally.

Really, he was quite nervous. However, he felt excited. He had a want to see her skin, to touch it, and if she would allow it at such a level… the thought alone made Severus shiver in anticipation.

He removed his hands from her, and he watched her fingers begin to unbutton her shirt. It fell from her shoulders, and she dropped it on the ground beside her cloak. All Severus could see was her bra straps, a lovely red color, and the skin on the back of her neck (as she tied her hair up with a found hair tie), her shoulders, and her arms. She was perfect as far as he was concerned. She had the same pale complexion that he did. Here and there, along her skin, he could see a freckle. It just added to her overall appearance.

Severus stood and stared at her in wonder for a lot longer than he had intended to. She finally turned to face him, and he caught a glimpse of her cleavage, as well as the rest of her lovely red bra.

* * *

"Are you all right, Sev?" she asked.

It was all she could do not to smirk. He was gawking at her, staring at her as if she were the most beautiful portrait in a museum. Admittedly, it was a nice self esteem boost.

"Yes," he said. "Now turn around so I may continue."

She smiled, doing as she was told. His fingers were once again on her shoulders, but the massage was working far better than it was going to had her shirt been on. She had watched his hands while he worked on his potions, whether in class or in their room late at night, and they were very graceful. His moves were always calculated and precise. Now, it was no different.

Rebecca let out a groan as he began working out a particularly tough knot just above her right shoulder blade.

* * *

Severus was pressed up against the back of the chair, getting as close to her as he could. He worked on her shoulders, moving down a bit, being mindful of her bra straps. He ran his fingers over them a few times; feeling the silky material made everything seem far more real than he believed it to be.

She groaned when he found a stubborn knot. He rotated his fingers just so, his other hand massaging the area around the knot. Eventually, he worked it out. He noticed her smiling, appearing to be enjoying herself. He smiled.

"Better?" he whispered.

* * *

"Mhmm," she managed, leaning back. He looked shocked that she would allow him such a view of her front, even from above.

His hands rested on her shoulders. She looked up at him. He was standing right behind the chair, pressed into it, in fact. He was upon her on all sides, and she found it comforting.

She brought up her own hand and waggled her finger just before his face.

He looked amused, but complied. He lowered his head to allow her to kiss him. This was where she would try a new tactic, she decided as she began kissing him slowly. His lips felt ready and willing underneath her own. Perhaps she could convince him that she was all right with going farther tonight.

When he pulled away from her, a satisfied grin upon his face, she waited until he was looking at her again before speaking.

"Why don't we go to the bed?"

* * *

**Author's Note: **Sorry to leave y'all hanging, but I thought it appropriate for the next part to have its own separate chapter. It might take me a bit to write it, as this semseter is getting a bit crazy, and I have the sudden urge to work on my X-Men fic, too, but I'll try to update sometime soon for this one. ^_^


	29. I've Got A Feeling

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of these characters, except Rebecca. I don't plan on making money off this, either.

**Author's Note:** I love reviews- they make me happy. ^_^ Thanks to those who have reviewed and to those who will (hopefully) review.

* * *

He could see all the way down her front, and he let his shock show. She was beautiful, all of her.

Her new suggestion, going to the bed, delighted him. Well, parts of him. Thoughts ran through his mind in rapid succession, all of them ending in him managing to convince her out of her bra.

He immediately stopped these thoughts. He had promised he would not push her.

The eager look she was giving him as she stood, took his hand in hers, and began leading him to the bed suggested that she might… _want_ to be pushed.

Merlin, that was a nice bra. And the way she slid back onto the bed… her usually clumsy ways were gone for the moment. Her hands tugged upon his, and he quickly relented, following her onto the bed.

As soon as he did, she began to approach him, pushing him back with a hand on his chest until his back was flat against the headboard of their bed. He was out of breath, and they had not even begun to do anything yet. All he found himself able to do was to stare at her: her eyes, sparkling in their mischievousness, her finger, trailing down his cheek, and her bra, covering up the skin he found himself wanting more and more to see.

Suddenly, Rebecca was hovering over him. She eased her hips down onto his and rested there for a moment, caressing his face with her tender fingers. Severus sighed, closing his eyes.

* * *

Rebecca smiled as Severus became limp within her grasp. She liked the look he was giving her, liked that he trusted her enough to close his eyes with her so close.

She finally closed the distance between their lips. He took in a sharp breath as they made contact. It quickly turned into a quiet moan as Rebecca deftly deepened the kiss. She felt his hands upon her waist, his fingers greedily running up and down her soft skin, taking in all the contours of both her sides. She shivered, enjoying the feeling.

Resting both hands on his shoulders, she allowed the full weight of her body to press into him. He sunk slightly into the bed, but did not seem distressed with her weight on top of him. In fact, from the way he was beginning to move underneath her, he seemed to like it a lot.

Rebecca nipped his lower lip, and his eyes shot open. He sat up, his hands wrapped around her waist, her hands still on his shoulders. They stared at one another for many long moments, breathing heavily from their snogging. She felt his hands beginning to crawl up her back, sending pleasant sensations through her body. Finally, she felt the fingers of his right hand rest upon the clasp to her bra. She smiled at him and nodded.

* * *

Severus had almost lost it when she had nipped his lower lip. That is how he found himself in their current position, his hands silently asking permission to take off that damned bra. It was taunting him. _She_ was taunting him. He knew that this had all a ploy, but he was secretly glad that she felt so comfortable with him to be so… exposed.

He had to use both hands to undo the clasp of her bra, cursing the pesky contraption. She giggled a little bit, but was patient with him and did not hurt his masculinity by removing it for him. He finally got the clasp to relent its hold. He froze for a moment after his success. His lips, next to her shoulder, kissed the skin he could reach. He trailed a line of kisses up her neck, deciding this would be the perfect time to remove the last garment from her upper body.

He gasped, dropping the bra onto the bed as he stared at the sight that was revealed to him. Her breasts were perfect, everything the other boys had made them out to be. He met her eyes, and she was still smiling at him. He knew this was a good sign and smiled back. Now he was nervous. Where was he supposed to go from here?

Before he could think of something, she had closed the distance between them again. She kissed him heatedly, and Severus found that he no longer cared if he did something wrong. Rebecca was half-naked in front of him, comfortable, willing. Before he could reach out and take a breast in his hand, her lips trailed over his ear. He groaned.

"Why don't you take off your shirt?" she whispered before teasing his ear with her tongue.

* * *

She stopped herself from giggling when he began rushing to remove his shirt. She held his wrist, then took the time to undo each button in his shirt. He stared at her while she did so, breathing raggedly. His pale chest was her reward for her patience. She slowly removed his shirt from his shoulders, and he pulled his arms out, freeing himself.

She threw the shirt off the bed, then settled against him once again. She began this kiss slowly.

He realized that the feeling of her breasts against his bare chest excited him. He couldn't kiss her slowly anymore. His hand tangled in her hair, his tongue seeking entrance to her mouth. Once he had it, he made sure she was thoroughly into the kiss before trying to make a move on her again.

Her moans were driving him over the edge, and it was so hard to hold himself back. He would not allow this encounter to end until he had fondled Rebecca's breasts, of that much he was sure. His hand, resting on her stomach, began to make its way up her abdomen. She didn't seem to notice, too wrapped up in their heated kiss. Just as she had before, he nibbled on her lower lip. She gasped, and as she did so, his left hand descended upon her left breast.

* * *

It was soft, but firm. It gave a little when he squeezed, but easily went into its original position. He had stopped kissing her, fully enthralled with her breasts. She watched him, her turn to breath heavily, raggedly. Severus smirked, slowly removing his hand from this breast to move to the other. He made sure to trail his fingers over her nipple.

Rebecca gasped again. This was definitely a new sensation, a new sensation that she really liked. The heat between her legs was building. She wanted something to be done about it. However, Severus seemed currently interested in everything having to do with her breasts. He was now experimenting with both of them, on in each hand, handling them gently. She became fascinated with his ministrations, and began watching him.

He smiled up at her, but she could see the nervousness in his eyes.

"Sev," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I want to touch you."

He gave her a puzzled look. Then, he seemed to understand. "I… would like to touch you as well," he said, unable to look away from her eyes. "I'm… afraid I won't really know what to do."

She sighed, smirking at him. "Do you think I'll know, either?" she asked. Then she shook her head. "We can teach each other, Sev. It'll be fine."

"Are you sure this is what you want?" he asked, both hands on either side of her face as he stared into her eyes. He seemed to be looking for any sign of discomfort within them, any sign that he should back off now.

"It's not like we're gonna have sex, Sev," she told him, chuckling a little. "I don't think we're ready for that yet." She kissed the end of his nose in reassurance. "I'm fine. Are you?"

He nodded without hesitating. "It just seems… so unreasonable that you would want me to touch you so intimately…"

"Sev."

* * *

She said it in such a manner, that he thought she was angry with him. He looked to her quickly, concerned.

"Shut up a kiss me," she said, reaching out her hand and pulling him toward her.

Severus complied, more than willing. That night, he discovered what it was like to have a different hand from his own stimulate him to orgasm. After he had cleaned himself up, he learned that it wasn't as difficult as he had imagined to have Rebecca feel the same pleasure that she made him feel.

They held each other as they fell asleep that night, comfortable.


End file.
